


Beginnings

by CranesWing (SoloShikigami)



Category: Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!
Genre: Origin Story, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 02:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 57,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6137908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoloShikigami/pseuds/CranesWing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A prequel to the series; How Chiro ended up finding the Super Robot, befriending five robotic monkeys, and the beginning of his training and introduction to his enemy - The Skeleton King.<br/>This fic premiered on Fanfiction.net and now I am moving it here. Originally published in 2006 - Ten Year Anniversary! Woot!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It Had Been a Bad Day

**Author's Note:**

> Wow... I can't believe I posted this ten years ago... Damn, I'm getting old, lol. As I go through, I'm going to re-format a few things, nothing in the story will change but I may make small changes; mostly grammatical mistakes, if I catch them.  
> I was going to put my original authors notes in, but I decided that unless they say something important? Not going to bother. Most of it seems to be general shout-outs and thanks to readers anyway.

Chiro sighed, looking out the window longingly, unable to wait for the bell to ring. After a day like this, yes, two minutes was too long. He had only come to Shuggazoom a couple of days ago; it seemed to be a nice city with fairly nice people. His foster parents, unfortunately, weren’t a pair of those nice people. So far, they seemed to want to ignore his existence, but that was okay. It wasn’t the first time Chiro didn’t fit in. 

Being a misfit continued with today; his first day at Shuggazoom Middle School. The school bullies had already bothered him, destroyed his math book, and made fun of his doodles of monkeys. The message had been sent out; steer clear of him. 

It was among the many things Chiro didn’t understand. Despite this treatment, he had carried on with a smile on his face. His parents had always encouraged him to smile, to show confidence, and to follow his heart. It was lessons like these that kept that smile, albeit not as sincere as it used to be, on his face. 

Chiro sighed again, but a small smile crept onto his face. He had made plans to explore the city that afternoon and Chiro did love an adventure. The bell rang. Chiro was out of his seat and out the door before the teacher could fully explain their next assignment. Chiro knew it was reading, whatever the rest of the assignment was didn’t matter to him today. 

Chiro took a deep breath as he stood outside. The weather was nice, only a few clouds graced the blue sky, and Chiro had at least three hours to explore, what was to him, the unknown. He knew he had to be home by the time the sun set. 

With a bounce in his step and a more genuine smile, the young teen took off into the city, heading towards the east end. As he went, the streets became more deserted and the buildings began to look a little more run-down as he headed into the part that seemed to be forgotten. He wandered further in, marveling at how there seemed to be no more than a little plant overgrowth to show how long this neighborhood had been abandoned. Surprisingly, it wasn’t filled with homeless people, gangs, or general troublemakers. It was just empty. 

“This is a little creepy,” Chiro said out loud to no one. “But it’s still cool. Maybe I could hang out here after school every day.” He looked down absently and found a can lying in the grass. For fun, he kicked it a few times, leaving his new path to the fate of where the can fell. It had taken a sideways course when Chiro looked up, suddenly feeling the chill of a shadow. At first, he supposed maybe a cloud passed over the sun. His eyes widened when he found he was in the shadow of a very tall, gray, boxy-looking robot. 

“Whoa,” he breathed reverently. “That is so cool.” 

Different thoughts began turning in his head along with his already active imagination. What was a robot doing in an abandoned part of the city? Was it meant to be a statue? Was it a monument to something that happened in the past? 

Deeply intrigued, Chiro wandered around the boxy feet, looking for a plaque, an inscription, anything that would give an answer to this odd riddle. 

“Hello? What’s this?” Chiro wondered at a set of buttons on the side of one foot. They had weird lettering that somehow looked familiar. “Maybe a race of aliens?” 

Shrugging, he decided to give the buttons a try. His fingers moved, almost of their own accord, as a code was punched in and it worked. Chiro jumped back as a door opened up. 

“Yikes. Uhm, beginners luck?” he said to himself with a shrug. 

However, now there was a new problem. 

“Do I continue on this possibly perilous quest? Or do I turn around and run away?” he wondered out loud, knowing he was being dramatic in his choice of words. He stared into the open doorway. There really didn’t seem to be anything inside. There apparently weren’t any buttons, other doors, or tunnels that lead anywhere. Perhaps it was just a simple empty space with a door. 

Chiro suddenly felt a chill from inside his body. Somehow, he could tell something was in there, and he couldn’t just walk away. 

Feeling a little numb, he walked inside, and didn’t mind the door slamming behind him. 

“O-okay, now what?” he stammered slightly. 

The platform below him moved up, and a bright light blinded him. Chiro shut his eyes tight and bent his knees to keep from falling as he traveled up through what he guessed was the robot’s leg. 

When the moving stopped, Chiro tried opening his eyes. The bright light didn’t go away, but after a second it didn’t matter because something had sucked him up from the platform. He screamed, scared, then suddenly he was sent sprawling onto a cold metal floor. 

“Uhg,” he groaned. “That sucked. Literally.” 

Chiro looked up and found the breath taken away from him. The sight before him seemed very unreal. There were five tall tubes that went from the floor to the ceiling and inside were five robots. Each was a different color. There was a black one, yellow, pink (or red?), green, and blue. 

“Is this something out of _Power Rangers_ or what?” Chiro muttered to himself. 

He went closer to the tubes to get a better look at these robots. They certainly weren’t very big. Chiro had to be taller than them. As he came closer, he noticed they all had tails. It made more sense when he saw that the robots looked like monkeys. 

“Monkey robots?” Chiro murmured. “This is really messed-“ 

He was cut short by a strange sound. He could hear it, yet there wasn’t any sound in the room. It was in his head. It sounded like a deep voice, the kind that television shows and movies put to prophetic or spiritual characters. There were no words; instead, there were sounds, emotions, thoughts, it all flowed though his head and there didn’t seem to be any way to stop it. 

He moaned slightly, this sudden telepathic assault was beginning to hurt. But how was he going to stop it? There didn’t seem to be a way out and he felt that if he moved too much he was going to be sick. 

Chiro stumbled to the control panel and looked it over. Whatever was in his head was somehow giving him directions on what to do. He started pushing buttons and pulling levers, doing his best to keep whatever it was in his head under control. 

Suddenly, lights started flashing. An alarm went off and the room turned red. 

“Oh no, what have I done?!” he exclaimed, suddenly coming back to himself. “I can’t even program an mp3 player, why am I trying to resurrect a bunch of robots?” 

He looked over the control panels; he had no idea which button meant what now, whatever force that had been guiding him was overridden by his own emotions. He looked at the robots still in their tubes, electricity crackled around them. 

“They’ll short circuit!” Chiro cried out in a panic, suddenly feeling very protective of these strange creatures. 

He ran over to them and without thinking, reached for the black monkey. The electricity crackled around him, his body went numb, and he felt the surge of energy rush through his body. Chiro cried out in pain, and then he heard another screeching cry joining his. 

Chiro was thrown backwards onto the floor. His sight was fading, but he could swear the black monkey came down from his suspended position in the tube; its yellow eyes gleamed at him with an unknown expression. 

Then Chiro’s world went black.


	2. Reviving Confusion

Antauri shook his head. His awakening wasn’t what he expected. Granted, the black robot monkey had no idea what to expect, and neither did his companions. 

“Yo, what’s going on?” Sprx-77 asked with a yawn. 

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Nova said, rubbing her eyes. 

Antauri looked over his shoulder at his companions. “We were activated. The Chosen One has arrived.” 

“Well, duh,” Sprx muttered. 

“But, where is he? Or she?” Gibson asked. 

“Maybe he knows,” Otto said, pointing to Chiro’s unconscious form. 

Sprx screeched. “Wait a second, he’s a kid?!” he glowered at Antauri. “You’re going to tell me that the Chosen One is a kid?” 

“It looks that way,” Antauri said. He went to Chiro’s side, looking down at him almost curiously before placing a hand on his forehead and closing his eyes. “Yes, I feel it, he holds the Power Primate.” 

Gibson approached the boy very carefully. “It looks like he’s been electrocuted.” 

“Now what?” Otto asked. 

“Let’s get him onto a bed, I’ll have to treat his arm,” Gibson said, poking at Chiro’s left arm. His sweater was burned and his fingers were blackened. 

Ten minutes later, the monkeys had Chiro resting on a bed. Gibson, who had some medical knowledge, had carefully cut away Chiro’s sweater and was treating the burns he received from the electrocution. Otto acted as a nurse, hanging from the ceiling with his tail and handing Gibson anything he asked for. 

Antauri, Sprx, and Nova watched and waited, staying to one side so they wouldn’t be in the way. Nova paced, Sprx leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, and Antauri sat in a meditating position with his eyes closed. 

“You think he’ll be okay?” Nova asked. 

“I trust Gibson with his care,” Antauri replied without moving. 

“So what does all this mean, anyways?” Sprx asked. “I mean, what are we here for?” 

“Our programming requires that we train this boy to be our leader.” 

“You have _got_ to be kidding, Antauri!” Sprx exclaimed. 

“You know, Sprx, this is tricky enough without your screeching,” Gibson said testily, “and Otto, would you stop swinging like that?” 

Otto paused in mid-swing and giggled. Gibson frowned. 

“Sorry, Gibson,” Otto apologized. 

“You heard the monkey, Sprx, no use in getting up in arms about it,” Nova said. 

“But, but him? The stupid kid got himself electrocuted!” 

“I’m sure it was an accident, first of all, secondly, if Antauri says he’s the one, then he’s the one.” 

“Oh, come on, Antauri, let’s get real.” 

“This is as real as it gets, Sprx,” Antauri assured him, opening his eyes to meet his gaze. 

Sprx glared as hard as he could at Antauri, who only stared back serenely. Nova reached over and knocked Sprx on the head hard enough to make him fall. 

“When Antauri says it’s so, let it go,” Nova told him flatly. 

Sprx looked at Nova with a grin. “Hey, you're a poet and didn't even know it.” 

“Shut up, you irritating little-” she raised a fist. 

“Temper, Nova,” Antauri warned. 

Otto looked up for a moment as Gibson wrapped Chiro’s arm, watching the other three bantering. He looked down at the unconscious teen thoughtfully. 

“Hey, Gibson,” Otto said, his voice quiet. 

“Yes?” 

“Do you think this is the Chosen One Antauri’s talked about?” 

“Antauri seems to think so. Since he’s the head monkey, I suppose we have to trust his judgment.” 

“Oh,” Otto went silent as Gibson finished, gently putting Chiro’s arm at his side and picking up a monitoring device to check for other injuries. “But, what if he turns out to be a jerk or something?” 

Otto shuddered, a horrible memory flowing over him. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, when has Antauri ever led us a-stray?” Gibson said sensibly. He put down the monitor and gave Otto a serious look and a very small smile. “I’m sure everything will be fine.” 

Otto smiled back and nodded. 

The room went quiet when Chiro let out a small, low grunt of pain. They all quickly gathered around the bed. They were nervous, anxious, suspicious, and curious all at once. 

Who was this person, anyway?


	3. Chiro's Awakening

Chiro slowly opened his eyes. The first thing that registered in his cloudy mind was pain. He felt like he was hit by a truck. The second thing was that he was lying on something soft. Wasn’t he on a hard metal floor a second ago? The third, and most frightening thing, was that five pairs of eyes stared down at him. 

“Ah!” Chiro yelped, sitting up quickly. 

“Ah!” the five monkeys screeched as they backed away. 

“Ow!” Chiro cried out, clutching his arm. 

“Calm down, now, you’ve had a small accident,” Gibson said slowly. “You suffered an electric shock, your arm had been burned, and, well,” he held up the sweater and undershirt. One arm was missing from them. Gibson gave him an apologetic look. “I had to cut them off to treat you.” 

Chiro stared at the blue monkey. Words escaped him. He looked at the other four apprehensively. 

“Hi! I’m Otto!” The green monkey held out a hand. 

Chiro could only stare. 

“Does he even understand us?” Nova whispered to Antauri. 

“Nah, how could he?” Sprx said sharply. “I say we dump him back outside.” 

“Not until I get an explanation,” Chiro said. 

The monkeys were silent and exchanged glances. 

“You understand what we’re saying?” Nova asked. 

“Well, yeah,” Chiro said. 

“Then it must be clear to you all that this boy is to be our leader,” Antauri said, looking at the others over his shoulder. He turned back to Chiro. “I am Antauri and this is the team.” 

Gibson cleared his throat. “My name is Mister Hal Gibson. However, just Gibson will do adequately,” 

“I’m Nova. You’ve met Otto, and the cranky one is Sprx-77, but we all just call him Sprx.” 

“Hey, you know my whole name, how sweet,” Sprx said, smiling at Nova. 

“Even though it’s really hard for you, don’t be an idiot,” Nova muttered with a glare. 

“What’s your name?” Otto asked. 

“I’m Chiro and I’m a little confused. What do you mean that I’ll be your leader?” 

“It’s just as I said. You are the one to lead our team, Chiro,” Antauri said. 

“And what team is that?” 

“We’re the Super,” Antauri started. 

“Robot,” Gibson said. 

“Monkey,” Sprx added. 

“Team,” Nova said. 

“Hyper,” Otto said, 

“Force,” Antauri finished. 

“Go!” Otto exclaimed, thrusting a fist in the air. Everyone looked at him blankly. “What?” 

Chiro sighed, resting his forehead into his palm. “I think we better begin at the top.” 

“We could say the same,” Sprx said. “Like start explaining how you got here.” 

“I think it would be best if we left Chiro alone to rest for a little bit. We will be outside if you require anything,” Antauri said. “When you feel better, then we will talk.” 

“Here’s a glass of water. Gibson said it would be good for you,” Otto said, placing a cup beside the bed with a smile. 

Gibson and Nova gave Chiro a small wave as they left, Sprx said nothing, and Antauri gave a small nod. 

Chiro lay back on the bed, feeling a little shaken. 

What did he get himself into? 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The Monkey Team sat in the control room to wait for Chiro in their specially designed chairs. 

“So, now what do we do?” Gibson asked. All eyes went to Antauri. 

“We begin preparation for our mission. It will be likely that the Skeleton King will be making an appearance soon and this city will require our protection,” Antauri said. “He will no doubt sense the Power Primate in the Chosen One and our own activation.” 

“Are you sure about this whole Power Primate thing?” Sprx asked. “I mean I know you have the whole spiritual connection thingy happening, but, come on.” 

“Sprx, I am growing a little exasperated of your complaints and lack of faith,” Antauri said, his voice still calm but firm. “There is no reason for you to be so, well, unreasonable.” 

“If you don’t mind too much, I have a problem with blind faith,” Sprx nearly growled. “Last time I checked, that nearly got us all killed.” 

“Hey, let’s calm down, everyone,” Otto said. “This isn’t blind faith, this is our programming with a little help from the mystic forces that be. He couldn’t have activated us or even gotten into the Super Robot without having something special inside of him, right?” 

“You’re almost scary when you sound like you know what you’re talking about, Otto,” Nova said. 

Otto grinned. 

“The point being, this boy has the Power Primate. He’s supposed to be our leader,” Gibson said. “However, leaders aren’t necessarily born. I’m sure he has no idea how to actually work the Super Robot.” 

“He probably doesn’t know how to fight, either,” Nova pointed out. 

“Or how to pilot any kind of machinery,” Otto said. 

“And he has no idea how to control his powers,” Antauri added. 

“So, what are we going to tell him? And when do we start?” Gibson asked. 

“We’ll bring him here to explain once he’s rested and we’ll just take one step at a time,” Antauri said. “Now, let’s make sure the Super Robot is operational.” 

The others nodded their agreement and went to fulfill their duties. Nova stayed behind for a moment. 

“You’re not going to tell him, are you?” she asked. 

“Like I had said, one step at a time,” Antauri replied.


	4. Understanding a Little Goes a Long Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chiro’s first night with the team, Sprx gets to know him a little better.

An hour later, Chiro had finally gotten out of bed and met up with the rest of the team to have (almost) everything explained. He sat in a chair of his own, his brain feeling a little overloaded. 

“Are you okay, Chiro?” Nova asked after he had been silent for five minutes. 

“Yeah, just, well, relieved, I guess,” he smiled at them. “Does this mean I get to stay here with all of you?” 

“Well, yes,” Antauri said slowly. 

“That would be so cool, much better than the home I have now,” Chiro gave them a sheepish grin. “That’s not very nice thing to say, but.” 

“Where do you live now, kid, in a box or something?” Sprx asked gruffly. 

“No, I live with foster parents. They’re not very nice,” Chiro looked at the ground for a second, and then looked back up with a smile. “So, is it okay if I go home to get my stuff?” 

Gibson gave him questioning look. “But what about these foster parents you speak of?” 

“They’ll survive without me,” Chiro’s voice had taken on an odd tone. 

“Well, he can’t go by himself,” Otto said. “It’s all dark out and stuff, hey! Sprx! Why don’t you go with him?” 

“Excellent idea,” Antauri said before Sprx could protest. “Sprx will be able to provide excellent protection, if necessary. Chiro is still injured, after all.” 

“Okay,” Chiro smiled at Sprx. “Let’s go.” 

“Yeah, yeah, sure, kid,” Sprx muttered, knowing better than to argue. Chiro got up and started out, Sprx gave the rest of the team a glare. “I hate you guys.” 

After the two left, Gibson looked to Antauri. 

“Do you think that was a good idea?” Gibson asked. 

“They will have to learn to trust each other, or if nothing else, deal with each other.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

It was a quiet walk back into the main part of the city. Sprx looked around, more curious than worried because for the most part, he wasn’t sure what Shuggazoom looked like. Chiro walked with his arms folded across his chest. The one was still hurt too badly for him to put them behind his head. 

“So, how long were you guys sleeping in the robot?” Chiro asked. 

“I think it was more like suspended animation,” Sprx said flatly. “We don’t really know, so neither of us have much to say, except Gibson. Mr. Hal Brainstrain could go on forever.” 

Chiro snickered. “Really?” 

“Yeah. So, what’s your story, kid, and what are foster parents?” 

Chiro’s walk slowed slightly as he started the shuffle his feet a little. 

“I’m an orphan. I lost my parents a few years ago. Foster parents are people who will take you in, but not adopt you as their own child. These two I’m with now are okay, I guess, but they fight a lot and don’t seem to care much about me,” Chiro tossed Sprx a smile. “I’m just grateful that I have a roof above my head and food. It could be worse, you know, but-” 

“But sometimes you want something else,” Sprx felt like he had finished Chiro’s sentence. 

Chiro stopped and both of their eyes met. As Sprx studied the slight look of surprise, he felt like he was really seeing Chiro for who he was. He could feel something telling him that this boy was a long lost family member looking for his clan. Perhaps it was him and the rest of the Hyper Force that Chiro was looking for. 

Now Sprx was beginning to understand what the Power Primate did for them. Chiro was linked to them, now, and he supposed there was nothing he could do to stop it, whether he liked it or not. 

Sprx came to the conclusion that maybe Chiro wasn’t so bad. 

Ten minutes later, they were at the small house that was Chiro’s foster home. He hesitated slightly before opening the door. 

“Who’s there?” a female voice demanded from inside. 

“It’s me,” Chiro called back. 

“Fft.” 

Then silence. Sprx looked at Chiro questioningly. Chiro didn’t look back; instead he gave a visible sigh of relief. 

The bedroom was small and provided Chiro with everything he needed. There was a bed that looked just barely big enough for a boy Chiro's age, a desk, and a little bookshelf. 

“So, uh, what do you think they’ll say when you tell them you’re leaving to live with five robot monkeys?” Sprx asked as he sat on the edge of the bed. 

“Probably nothing, they might be fighting by then. Hopefully I can leave without having to explain,” Chiro began throwing his few possessions in a small orange and white duffel bag. He only had some extra clothes, two books, a handful of toy robots, and a picture frame. 

“Hey, Sprx? If they do happen to say anything, don’t talk back. I’ll handle them,” Chiro said as they left his room. 

“Kid, they wouldn’t understand me even if I did,” Sprx said. 

“They wouldn’t?” 

“What is that noise?” A woman stepped out of a room to block their path. She looked like she could be nice if only she smiled. Her short, curly red hair framed her round face. The look of distaste twisted her features. “Is this some weird new toy you picked up? How did you get the money for something like that? If you have the money for that, maybe I should charge you rent.” 

Sprx noticed that the woman was more concerned about Chiro spending money than the fact his arm was wrapped up. Or that his sweater suddenly had one short sleeve. 

“Yo, back off you foster parent!” Sprx said, shaking a fist at the woman. 

“Ugh, and you spent how much money on a gibberish-spewing robot toy?” She snarled at Chiro. 

“I’ll show you who’s a toy,” Sprx said, getting his magnetic weapons out. 

“What are you doing?” Chiro asked. 

“I’m asking you the questions!” The woman screamed, her hand moving to grip the front of his shirt. 

“Don’t touch him!” Sprx activated the magnets and pulled anything metallic within a ten foot radius towards them. The woman screamed, suddenly flustered at being bombarded by household objects. 

“Sprx! Cut it out!” Chiro demanded. 

“Only ‘cause you said so,” Sprx dropped the magnetic field, and everything fell to the ground. 

“You are going to clean up every piece of this mess right now or I’ll-“ 

Chiro never heard the rest of the threat. Neither did Sprx, for Chiro had grabbed his hand and started running. 

“What did you do that for!” Chiro exclaimed. 

“Aw, come on, it was a joke, she didn’t get hurt,” Sprx said. 

“Not funny!” 

Chiro finally slowed to a stop, gasping for breath. He let go of Sprx and bent over, his hands on his knees. Sprx brushed imaginary dirt off himself. 

“Look, she was getting in your face and it was totally unfair. She needed to be taught a lesson,” Sprx said defensively. 

Chiro didn’t answer. 

“Didn’t you see the look on her face? I wish I recorded it.” 

Chiro still didn’t answer, though he seemed to have caught his breath. 

“Come on, kid, you didn’t think it was the least bit funny?” Sprx bent down to try to see Chiro’s face. “Chiro?” 

Chiro’s back shook slightly, and then he looked up and laughed. 

“Okay, okay, that was funny,” he admitted. “So wrong, but so funny.” 

Sprx smiled. “Come on, let’s go home.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Chiro sighed happily as he relaxed in his bed. His books were set up in one corner with his desk. He had his small collection of robots and figurines from his favorite cartoons on a shelf nearby, a spare set of his school clothes hung on a wall and his destroyed ones were on the back of a chair. He turned off the light and pulled his covers up. 

“Finally, I’m home,” he said just before he yawned. 

Not five minutes later, he was asleep. 

Chiro didn’t know that outside his door, Sprx had been listening and it made him smile. 

“Sleep tight, kid,” he said, turning to go to his own room. 

What he didn’t know was that Otto had been standing behind him. Sprx went to let out a surprised screech, but Otto covered his mouth first. 

“Hey, it’s me,” Otto said. 

“Don’t scare me like that!” Sprx growled. 

Otto only smiled and they started down the hall together. 

“So, how did it go?” Otto asked. 

“Just fine.” 

“Something had to have happened, you seem different.” 

“Let’s just say that the kid and I reached an understanding.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah,” Sprx tossed Otto a smirk before retreating into his room. “He stays out of my way; I don’t give him a magnet sandwich.” 

Otto looked puzzled, even after Sprx had shut his door. 

“Whatever you say, Sparky,” Otto smiled and went off to his own bedroom.


	5. Days One Through Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Chiro…Avionics, meditation, physical training, mechanics, not to mention homework.

Chiro woke up with a bit of a start once he found himself in an unfamiliar room and his arm still hurting. Then everything rushed back to him. 

“Oh yeah, burned arm due to electric shock, robot monkeys,” he muttered, and then he smiled. “This is going to be the best day ever!” 

After getting dressed, he realized that he had about an hour before he had to leave for school. 

It was exploration time. 

But Chiro didn’t get too far when his stomach growled. 

“Oh, right, breakfast might be a good idea,” he muttered to himself. 

Chiro wandered into the control room, he figured maybe there would be a map or something to help direct him. What he found was Antauri. 

“Good morning, Chiro,” Antauri greeted him. 

“Morning, Antauri. Hey, I’m kinda hungry, I was wondering where-“ 

Before Chiro could finish, Antauri held up a tray to him. On it was a bagel and a carton of orange juice. 

“I hope this will do, they were freeze dried,” Antauri explained. 

“Thank you.” 

“Think nothing of it. Have a seat, Chiro, and we will discuss your training schedule.” 

Chiro sat down, balancing the tray on his lap. He took a bite of the bagel and grimaced slightly. It tasted a little stale, but he decided it was better than nothing. He also didn’t want to insult Antauri. 

“So, what kind of training?” Chiro asked. 

“You’ll need to learn avionics, mechanics, weapons training, meditation, combat training, battle formations, skills and commands.” 

Chiro forced himself to swallow another bite of his breakfast. 

“Wow, that’s a lot of stuff. Most of it makes sense, but why meditation?” 

“You need to learn to control your mind so that you can control your powers.” 

“My powers? What kind of powers am I supposed to have?” 

“You will be learning the ways of Power Primate. It’s a powerful force that has been awakened within you. You will need to learn to focus your mind to use that power, for it will be where you’ll be getting your energy from.” 

Chiro slowly drank his juice, letting it sink in for a moment before he cleared his throat. “Uh, huh, so, when I woke you guys up, this Power Primate bonded us with its energy.” 

“You could put it that way.” 

“This is so weird, but so cool,” Chiro put the tray down, unable to finish the bagel. “So now, I got hero training after school. Heh, that’s one heck of an activity to put on my college applications,” then it dawned on him. “Oh, man, what time is it? I’m going to be late for school!” 

“Can you get to school all right, Chiro?” Antauri asked, following the boy back to his room. 

“Yeah, sure,” Chiro said, grabbing his backpack. 

They left Chiro’s room and then there was a scuttling noise down the hall. 

“Wait!” Gibson called out. Chiro turned to him. “I have to examine your arm before you go.” 

“No time, I’m sorry, but it’s okay, really.” 

Gibson gave him a disbelieving look. “If you say so, just be careful today.” 

“Sure, I promise.” 

“Oh, there you are,” Otto walked up to Chiro with a grin. “Made something for ya, it’s a communicator just in case you need us.” 

Otto dropped a pin into Chiro’s hand. It was in the shape of a robot monkey head. 

“Thanks, Otto,” Chiro pinned it onto his sweater. 

“Chiro? You’re leaving?” Nova asked, overhearing them in the hallway. 

“Yeah, gotta go to school, otherwise I’d really be in trouble. Speaking of trouble, if I don’t leave soon, I’m going to be late. Thanks, you guys, be back this afternoon!” 

With a wave, Chiro ran off. 

“He is coming back, isn’t he?” Nova asked. 

“Yes, he will return,” Antauri assured her. “Not everyone will leave forever, Nova, you must conquer this fear.” 

“Yeah, yeah I know,” Nova said with a sigh. “Hey, what is school?” 

“I’ll explain,” Gibson said, leading Nova out of the hallway. 

When Chiro came to the door that would lead him outside, he found Sprx leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. 

“Watch your back out there, kid,” he said. 

“Sure.” 

“And come home soon.” 

Chiro smiled. “You bet.” 

Sprx returned his smile and then Chiro was gone. 

o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o 

As he walked to school, Chiro felt more content with the world than he had for a long, long time. 

He had a family again. 

o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o 

Back at the Super Robot, the Monkey Team went about with their plans for that day, which included getting everything prepared for their upcoming training sessions. Gibson and Antauri were in the holographic combat training room making sure everything was in order. 

“You still didn’t tell him, did you?” Gibson asked. 

“Tell who what?” Antauri asked, busy concentrating on their task. 

“Tell Chiro he’s the Chosen One.” 

Antauri came out from under the console so he could look at Gibson. 

“I don’t think he’s ready to have that knowledge yet. I have the feeling that Chiro believes that this is a game, he doesn’t realize the severity of the situation.” 

“So when do we tell him?” 

“When it becomes necessary,” Antauri slid back under the control panel. “He’s going to have enough on his hands handling the Power Primate along with his other training, plus the responsibilities that he’s had before he came to us.” 

“How do we know the Power Primate will work the same for him as it does for us? Logically, it can’t. Logically, the entire concept doesn’t make much sense.” 

“You must have faith, Gibson.” 

“I do, Antauri, for logical explanations.” 

“It was once said, ‘For those who don’t believe, no explanation is possible. For those that do believe, no explanation is necessary.’” 

o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o 

Chiro smiled all through his lectures, only half-paying attention, his fingers doodling sketches of his new family. He knew Sprx had the magnetic weapons and idly thought of what weapons the others used. 

“Well, well, what do we have here?” someone grabbed the notebook Chiro was doodling in away. 

“Hey! Give it back!” Chiro demanded, standing up, but a strong arm shoved him back into his seat. 

It was BT and Glenny, the bane of Chiro’s existence. 

“Always with the monkeys, what a stupid thing to draw,” BT scoffed. “Hey Monkey Boy, want a banana?” 

“Yeah, Monkey Boy, maybe we ought to get one of those little hats and a cup for you and you can dance in front of the town for money.” 

“Would you guys just leave me alone? And give me back my notebook!” 

Chiro knocked Glenny’s hand off his shoulder and stood. He started grabbing for his notebook, but BT only held it high and shoved Chiro away. The boys taunted him for a few minutes longer before Chiro finally lost his temper. With an enraged yell, Chiro stomped on BT’s foot, the result being the bully dropping the book. Chiro snatched it up and ran out of the room. 

“I’ll pay you back for that, Monkey Boy!” the dire promise was screamed. 

“Sure you will,” Chiro muttered to himself, “if you can find me after school.” 

o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o 

The rest of the day went as a normal school day. BT and Glenny kept giving Chiro murderous glares through out the rest of their classes. Chiro watched the clock carefully. He intended on getting out of class as fast as he did the day before. 

“I am handing back your history tests,” the teacher announced. A few groans greeted this. “I expect any of you who received a seventy five or below to see me immediately. It wouldn’t hurt any of you who scored under ninety to see me, either.” 

Chiro looked at his paper. He had received an eighty-three, not much better than his last test. Chiro wasn’t very good with history. 

The bell rang as the teacher began a lecture on good grades. Chiro gathered his things quickly and started out, but BT and Glenny beat him to the door. 

“Payment due, Monkey Boy,” BT said, grabbing the front of his sweater. 

“Glenny, BT, at my desk, now,” the teacher said harshly, breaking them up. “You two are a disgrace! You two are the only ones who failed, miserably I might add!” 

As the two were pulled away by the teacher, Chiro slipped out the door and started running. 

Chiro kept running even after he was far away from the school. He knew there was no chance of the bullies catching up, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to get home, and quickly. 

He finally got to the Super Robot, mindlessly punched in the security code, and stumbled into the doorway. He collapsed on the platform, exhausted, and doing his best to get his breath back under control. 

When the platform reached the top, Chiro got to his feet and made his way to the control room. 

“I’m home,” he called out, somewhat weakly, and he sat down in his chair. 

Chiro figured he should have felt relaxed, but he wasn’t. Something was wrong. It was too quiet and he began to wonder where the others were. 

“Guys?” Chiro called out, getting to his feet again. 

He checked around the halls, some of the rooms, but so far there was nothing. He found his way to where the training rooms were. 

“Antauri did mention training, maybe they’re doing training of their own,” Chiro guessed out loud. 

He walked into one room, which was completely bare. 

“Hello? Is anyone here?” He called. His voice reverberated against the walls. Chiro shuddered, it was creepy. 

Suddenly, a long tube-like object flew at his head. He lifted his uninjured arm to block it. Another one came at his feet, he jumped. Another one for his head, he ducked. They kept coming at him, Chiro could only duck, jump, or block them. It didn’t hurt the couple of times they did make contact with him, they were made out of foam, but it was irritating to be hit. 

The tubes started coming out faster, and more numerous, they even began to sting anytime they did hit Chiro. He kept up as best he could for another five minutes when they altogether stopped. Chiro’s head whipped around, expecting another tube to come flying at him, his nerves and senses on fire. He could feel something else approach; he turned around and put both his arms up to block. 

It was Nova. She had tried to hit him on the head, lightly, but her metal arms collided with his. 

Chiro looked at her, surprised, she only smiled back. 

“What is this?” Chiro asked. 

“A basic training exercise,” Antauri answered. 

Chiro turned around and saw there was a platform in one corner of the room where Antauri and the others stood. There had been a cloaking device on it before, which prevented Chiro from seeing it. 

“This was to test your evasion abilities, and I have to say you have a very good start,” Antauri continued. 

Chiro looked blankly at him, then Nova, and then he realized that he blocked Nova’s strike with his injured arm and it was starting to hurt. He crouched down, rolled onto his back, and closed his eyes with a sigh. 

“Dear me,” Gibson said, rushing over to him. “It appears he has fainted.” 

“Appearances aren’t everything,” Chiro muttered, his eyes still closed. “Nah, I didn’t faint, my arm just really hurts and I’m really, really tired.” 

“See? I told you I should have checked it before you ran off, but oh no,” Gibson started to rant as he and Otto helped Chiro up and lead him to the medical room. 

Chiro didn’t say anything and just let Gibson continue talking. At one point he looked down at Otto. Otto looked up and smiled. Chiro smiled back. 

When they arrived in the medical room, Chiro took off his shirt while Gibson gathered some materials. Chiro held as still as he could while Gibson peeled the bandage away from his skin. Some of it had stuck, some of the wounds reopened due to moving around and the training exercise. 

“If you would have let me take a look at it before you departed for school, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt as much,” Gibson said when Chiro winced. 

“It didn’t really hurt this morning,” Chiro muttered. 

“Burns can be very serious,” Gibson started applying some ointment. “I want you to see me every morning and evening until it heals, so this means you better make sure you are awake on time so you are not late for school.” 

“I can take care of it myself, Gibson.” 

“Nonsense, you can’t wrap your own arm by yourself. Not properly, at the very least.” 

“But I don’t want to bother you.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, as the only member of the team versed in medical practices, it is among my duties to make sure you are healthy and your injuries are tended to,” Gibson finished wrapping Chiro’s arm. “There, all finished. See you this evening?” 

“You got it, Dr. Gibson.” 

o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o 

The next two days were the same. Chiro woke up, met up with Gibson to have his arm checked, had his breakfast (they finally figured out the Super Robot’s food processor), went to school, avoided the bullies, and came home to a training exercise. 

The third day was different. 

“Antauri, have you seen Chiro this morning?” Gibson asked. 

“I haven’t. Why?” 

“He was supposed to come to my lab so I could examine his arm, and for the past couple of days he has and quite promptly, however he seems to be missing this morning.” 

Antauri looked concerned. “Have you asked Otto and Sprx?” 

“They’re still sleeping.” 

“Hm, well, wake them up. We have to find Chiro.” 

“Have you two genius’ checked his room?” Nova asked as she approached them. 

“No,” they two said at the same time. 

“Nova may be right,” Antauri said. 

“Uh huh,” Nova looked pleased with herself. 

The three of them went to Chiro’s room and knocked on the door. 

“Chiro? Chiro, are you in there?” Antauri called. 

There was no answer. 

“Now I am worried,” Nova said. 

Gibson put in a code to open the door. It did, and they went inside. To their relief, Chiro was there, still sleeping in his bed. 

“Chiro, it’s time to wake up,” Nova said, shaking him slightly. 

“Wha?” Chiro opened his eyes and looked at them blearily. “What’s up?” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school by now?” Antauri asked. 

“No, it’s Saturday, there’s no school.”


	6. Team Mechanics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see some of Chiro’s training. Go, Chiro, go! That and some team bonding. Awwww.

By the time Chiro explained why there was no school on the weekends, Otto and Sprx had woken up and breakfast was ready. 

Chiro was a little wary of the scrambled eggs. Otto and Sprx didn’t look like the cooking types. He watched the others for a moment, no one else seemed to mind, and everyone was eating. Chiro shrugged and took a bite. 

Not bad. 

“So, what are we going to do today?” Chiro asked. 

“Take over the world!” Sprx said, brandishing his fork in the air. 

Otto laughed. Antauri and Gibson rolled their eyes. Nova punched his shoulder lightly, which only made Otto laugh even more and Chiro snort. 

“Seriously, though,” Sprx said. “Some of the computer programs are still off-line and we have a lot of wiring that should be replaced, and of course, training.” 

“What should I do today?” Chiro asked, looking to Antauri. 

“You’ve been doing a lot of combat training, perhaps you should take on something more mentally challenging,” Antauri said. “Otto, would you start Chiro’s mechanics training?” 

“Sure thing,” Otto replied brightly. 

“What will we be doing?” Chiro asked, now looking to Otto. 

“Just get you some of the basics down, just in case the robot breaks down and you gotta fix it,” Otto said. He jumped up, taking his plate. “I’m done! When you’re ready, meet me in the engine room.” 

With that, Otto scampered off to wash his dishes. 

“He’s energetic,” Chiro murmured, watching Otto leave. 

“That’s the way he’s always been,” Nova said. 

“Doesn’t talk much though, huh?” Chiro added. 

“Otto is what people sometimes call the ‘strong and silent type,’” Antauri said. Chiro looked at him with a touch of disbelief. “He is much stronger than he looks.” 

“Eh, he’s not so tough,” Sprx said. 

“Sprx got his tail kicked last night,” Gibson muttered out of the corner of his mouth. 

“So I slipped, big deal,” Sprx wouldn’t meet anyone’s eye. 

“Yeah, you slipped after he threw a saw at your foot and nearly chopped your toe off,” Nova said with a smirk. 

Sprx glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Oh, you are going to pay for that.” 

Chiro smiled as the two argued playfully, Antauri and Gibson were ignoring them with practiced ease as they discussed what else had to be done on the robot. He was amazed at how his life changed so quickly in such a short time, yet how little he actually knew about his new friends. 

He shrugged, figuring he would find out in time, and then quietly stood up to leave so he could join Otto in the engine room. 

Wherever that was. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“How ya doin’ there, Chiro?” Otto asked. 

“Not so good, I still can’t get this thing to work,” Chiro said with a defeated sigh. 

Otto went over to him and looked over his shoulder. The green monkey had given the boy an easy gadget to fix. When it was done, the green light was supposed to go on. Though the gadget looked fixed, the light wouldn’t go on. 

“I’ve tried just about everything,” Chiro said. “I don’t think I did anything wrong.” 

“Lemme see,” Otto took it and looked over the gadget closely. Even he looked a little puzzled. 

“So, it’s not just what I did?” Chiro asked hopefully, trying to read the look on Otto’s face. 

Otto didn’t answer; instead, he turned the device over in his hands. 

“Ah ha!” 

“What?” Chiro asked. 

“Silly me,” Otto said, walking over to his tool box. He reached in and pulled out a small cylindrical object. “No battery.” 

Chiro sighed. “You’re kidding.” 

“Nope!” Otto popped the battery in its slot, and instantly the green light tuned on. “You did it, Chiro!” 

“But I didn’t even know the battery was missing.” 

“Neither did I,” Otto dropped the device into Chiro’s hand. 

“What is this for, anyway?” 

“It’s an emergency light. Most of them work, except for this one off the north hallway.” 

“Ah, okay.” 

Otto turned back to the control panel he was working on before. Chiro stood close by, trying to see under the panel at what he was doing. 

“So, what are you doing?” Chiro asked after a few minutes. 

“Making sure the robot’s emergency engine functions will fire correctly,” Otto replied. “It would be really bad if we got stuck in the middle of the galaxy somewhere and Antauri would kill me.” 

“So this thing can fly?” 

“It does a lot more than that,” Otto came out from under the console. His eyes were gleaming excitedly. “It can fly, fight, transform into jets and tanks, I can’t wait until we start that part of the training.” 

Chiro laughed. “You know, ever since I got here, I don’t think I ever heard you talk so much.” 

Otto seemed to blush a little (can they do that? Chiro wondered), and looked down. 

“Yeah, I stay pretty quiet, I guess,” Otto said. “I like making the others laugh, I like to say and do stupid things sometimes, anything for a smile.” 

Chiro couldn’t help himself and smiled. 

“See?” Otto said with a smile of his own. 

Chiro laughed. “Hey, what do you say to getting out of here for a bit?” 

“Out?” 

“Yeah, let’s go outside, explore, or just walk around, maybe we can go into town for an ice cream.” 

Otto tilted his head slightly. Apparently, these ideas were strange to him. 

Chiro chuckled. “Come on, let’s go.” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

It was a warm and windy day. Chiro decided it might be best to go to the boardwalk. 

“Wow,” Otto breathed, impressed at the sight of the ocean. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen the ocean like this.” 

“I saw it my first day in Shuggazoom, haven’t been back here since; must have been nearly two months. Say, how long were you guys sleeping in the robot?” Chiro asked, leaning against the railing. 

“I’m not sure, Antauri probably knows. He knows everything.” 

“I guess so. Are you five like, brothers and sisters or something?” 

“I don’t think so, why?” 

“It would be really weird if you all are, especially since Sprx and Nova seem to like each other a lot.” 

Otto smiled and sighed. “Yeah, those two, once they grow up, they’d be good for each other.” 

Chiro heard Otto’s tone change. “Is there something I don’t know?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Ah, you like Nova, too.” 

“No I don’t!” 

“That just gives it away even more.” 

Chiro smiled at Otto with a knowing look in his eyes. Otto stared back with a fallen, almost pathetic look. He was trying to cover his mistake, but he just couldn’t. That was one thing Otto just couldn’t change; he wore his emotions like a badge, much less on his sleeve. 

“Okay, I’ll confess, I did like Nova for a while, sometimes I still do, but it wouldn’t work.” 

“Why not?” 

“I couldn’t come between her and Sprx. Besides, my feelings have changed over time. Sure, I love Nova, but I also love Sprx.” 

Chiro blinked at him with a slight frown. 

“And I love Gibson, and Antauri, I love everyone!” 

As Otto went on, his usual upbeat tone returned, and Chiro turned his frown around and shook his head. 

“I think I understand, Otto.” 

“You do?” 

“Yeah, I just hope that you and the others will feel the same about me one of these days, and then we can be a family.” 

“Well on the way there.” 

“You think?” 

“Sure, the only one I worried about was Sprx.” 

“Heh, I still worry about him sometimes.” 

“Nah, he likes you.” 

“How can you tell?” 

“He watches you very closely, the first night you were with us he waited outside your room until you fell asleep.” 

“Seriously?” 

“Yeah. That’s one thing about Sprx, he cares a lot more than he says he does,” Otto covered his mouth suddenly again. “Eh, just don’t tell him I said anything, he’d kill me.” 

Chiro laughed. “This will be between you and me, you can say anything and everything you want and I won’t tell a soul. Unless it’s serious.” 

Otto smiled again and they both looked back out to the water. They had reached their own understanding. Of course, it was no surprise to the others that Otto would make fast friends with their new leader. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

After they returned, Chiro was given another combat lesson for an hour. Nova moved on to teaching him how to punch and kick correctly. Once he was done, Antauri taught him the basic of meditation and told him to practice on his own during the week. 

Chiro felt very tired by lunchtime. 

“So, how did your training proceed this morning?” Gibson asked while he and Chiro decided what to make for lunch. 

It took Chiro a minute to process what Gibson had asked. 

“It was okay,” Chiro said. “A lot of this stuff seems really hard, I just hope I can keep up.” 

“I believe you will be adequately suited to expectation, you just have to boost your self-confidence and keep a timely routine to your studies.” 

Chiro looked at him blankly. Speaking to Antauri seemed to be easier to understand. 

“I’m sorry Gibson, can you repeat that?” Chiro asked with a sheepish look. 

Gibson sighed. “It’s okay, I have to do it for Sprx and Otto, too. I just meant that you’ll catch on eventually as long as you trust yourself and stick to studying.” 

“I’m really sorry, my brain just feels really fried.” 

“Again, it’s okay, I’m used to the others being unable to understand me.” 

“Speaking of understanding, that reminds me. When Sprx and I went to my foster parents’ house, they didn’t understand him. Why?” 

“We speak a different language - a form of primate communication humans don’t understand.” 

“Then how come I-” 

“The Power Primate has gifted you with the ability to understand us.” 

“Oh, okay.” 

They decided on tuna fish and salad. It was the only quick and easy thing to put together. Chiro had no idea how to cook anything past toast. 

After lunch, Gibson handed Chiro a sheet of paper. 

“This is a schedule Antauri and I put together for you. It has instructions on what you will be learning each day, and allots time for you school studies and recreation.” 

“Whoa, cool, thanks Gibson.” 

“You’re welcome. I will give you a new schedule as your training progresses; make sure you stick to it.” 

“I will,” Chiro smiled at him. 

“Man, don’t you ever shut up?” Sprx asked, breaking into Gibson and Chiro’s conversation. “The kid has avionics training.” 

“Hmph,” Gibson crossed his arms. “At least with Chiro I get intelligent conversation.” 

“You trying to say I’m stupid?” 

“I hardly need to try for that.” 

The two bickered again, Chiro slowly backed out of the crossfire. 

“I’ll handle them, Antauri will give you the avionics class,” Nova said, pounding her knuckles together. 

“Uh, okay, just don’t kill them,” Chiro said, becoming more nervous at the prospect of Nova’s intervention. 

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t,” her eyes narrowed. “I’ll just make them wish they were dead.” 

Antauri took Chiro’s arm carefully and lead him away. 

“They’ll be fine, Otto won’t let anything happen to them,” Antauri assured him. 

“Yeah, guess so,” Chiro agreed, then he chuckled. “Or at least, if anything does happen, he can fix them.” 

Antauri smiled. His team was beginning to bond better than he thought.


	7. Bad Day, Take Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chiro has some more trouble coming to him.

The weekend passed by in a flash, it was the most intense weekend Chiro had ever experienced. His mind was buzzing with knowledge he had only dreamed of possessing. He walked to school with a new confidence, thanks to Nova’s combat training he now knew how to block, kick, and punch. 

Granted, he was given strict orders not to show off at school. Or at the very least, in Chiro’s opinion, not show off and have them find out about it. 

“Hey, Monkey Boy.” 

Chiro froze at the voice. 

“You didn’t forget that you owe us for Friday, did you?” 

Chiro slowly turned around to find BT and Glenny standing there. Glenny was pounding one fist into his hand. 

“Hope you had a long, relaxing weekend, because it will be the last one you ever have,” BT growled. 

“Look, just leave me alone,” Chiro said, trying to find a way past them. 

BT reached out and grabbed the front of Chiro’s shirt and pulled him close. 

“Say your prayers, Monkey Boy,” BT snarled. 

Chiro put his hands up. “I’m warning you, BT, let go of me.” 

“You’re warning me, you little shrimp?” BT raised his fist. 

Chiro quickly reacted. He took a step back, raised his uninjured arm and dug his elbow into BT’s arm. BT cried out in a mix of surprise and pain. Glenny ran forward to grab Chiro, Chiro let loose a kick, his heel hit Glenny’s stomach and stopped him in his tracks. 

After that, Chiro ran around the corner and into the school. He slipped into his seat, now terrified. 

What had he done? 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Chiro dreaded what would happen. If the bullies told someone, it wasn’t a detention or a possible suspension sentence Chiro worried about. It was that they would call his legal guardians. This meant that his foster parents would be phoned. 

What would they say? Would they tell the school that he ran away? What kind of lies would they tell? Did they even notice that he was gone and perhaps he was panicking for nothing? 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Chiro muttered, bumping his head on the desk lightly a few times before resting it with a sigh. “Why did I have to be such an idiot?” 

Chiro sat through his morning classes with butterflies in his stomach. BT and Glenny were late by nearly a half an hour. They tossed Chiro a more murderous glare than he had ever received. Were they late because they were busy talking to the principal? It was hard to tell. They were late to class on a fairly regular basis. 

The morning went on, Chiro’s mind wandered for the most part. He thought it was strange that there were people around him with normal lives. They had families, friends, and among their worst worries was what their grades were going to be. 

What Chiro had was a group of robotic monkeys who had become the best friends and family he could ever want. 

Life wasn’t so bad. 

It was what the school was going to think that made him want to run away again. 

Chiro set his head down on his desk, all the thinking and worrying was making him sick to his stomach. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“Chiro? Chiro, dear, wake up.” 

“Huh?” 

Chiro slowly lifted his head. He looked around at the empty class room and then finally his eyes fell on the smiling face of his science teacher, Ms. Moden. 

“Looks like you fell asleep,” Ms. Moden ruffled Chiro’s hair with one hand. 

“I’m so sorry, Ms. Moden,” Chiro said quickly, suddenly very awake. 

“It’s all right, I know geology can be boring,” she laughed lightly. 

“Well, no, it wasn’t that.” 

“You do seem to have a lot on your mind. Is everything going all right at home?” 

Chiro frowned slightly. What should he say? The truth? 

_‘Yes, Ms. Moden, everything is just fine these days. I ran away from my foster parents so I could live in a huge robot in the abandoned part of town with five robotic monkeys. They’re teaching me how to fight, mechanics, how to fly, oh and I beat on two of the class bullies before school started. Every thing's fine here.’_

Chiro held back a snort at the thought. That would go over real well. 

“Yeah, every thing’s okay, just had a really long weekend,” Chiro said with a smile. 

Not a total lie. 

“As long as you’re sure, Chiro,” Ms. Moden gave him another smile. “Just know that if you ever need to talk, you can always come to me.” 

“Thanks, Ms. Moden.” 

“Now, why don’t you go outside and find something to do until the next class starts? It really is a lovely day outside, shame enough you waste it indoors with class.” 

Chiro nodded, slowly stood and left them room. 

By the time Chiro reached the door that lead into the school’s courtyard and sports fields, he remembered what had happened between him, BT and Glenny. But that was only when a heavy hand clapped onto his shoulder. 

“Hey, Monkey Boy,” Glenny murmured into his ear. “Time to pay us back.” 

Chiro swallowed hard, allowing the bullies to lead him out and to one side of the school building. It was the place the bullies usually hung out and it was known that kids got dragged back there and came out with a need to visit the infirmary. 

Chiro’s mind kicked itself back into gear when he saw that there were three more students huddling in the shadows. 

“That the one, BT?” One asked. 

“Yeah, this is the Monkey Boy who needs a lesson,” Glenny said, throwing Chiro towards them. 

Chiro regained his footing without thinking and put his hands up. 

“Oh, so you gonna fight us, Monkey Kid?” another one said. 

“I’m not here to fight,” Chiro said firmly. “I didn’t fight before, I was just trying to defend myself.” 

“Maybe you don’t wanna fight, but we do,” the third of the party replied. “Our buddies here paid us some good money and I have to say we deliver.” 

“You bribed them? Oh, come on,” Chiro rounded on BT and Glenny, who stood at the entrance like a wall. “You two are the biggest pair of cowards I have ever seen, you go hire the school assassins instead of fighting me yourselves?” 

BT and Glenny stared at Chiro. This was the quiet geek in class, where did he find that kind of strength and confidence all of a sudden? 

Chiro caught himself as well, surprised at the words that were coming out. He couldn’t honestly take on the three bullies, and what if BT and Glenny weren’t so cowardly and jumped him, too? 

There was no more time to think. The bullies attacked. 

Chiro wasn’t sure how long the fight lasted. What little training he received had possibly kept him from getting the worst. He was definitely hurt, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was that the fear and anger seemed to suddenly take over. 

There was something burning deep inside him. It started in his stomach, then it spread up to his chest and it spread over his skin. His attackers backed off, they were talking but Chiro couldn’t hear them. A bright, green light blinded him for a moment, there were cries of surprise, and then Chiro found himself running. 

“What have I done now?” Chiro wondered. “And where am I?” 

He stopped and looked around. He had run at least two blocks away from the school. He knew something really bad had happened. Whatever it was, Chiro could definitely not go back. 

“Someone would have to tell a teacher,” Chiro murmured. “It was too weird. They’ll call my fosters; what if they send the police after me? What’ll I do?” 

He sighed, went to sit down, and it was then the pain hit him. He put a hand to his face, he was definitely bruised and his skin scratched, it hurt to breathe, and his burned arm began to throb. 

“I gotta get home,” he murmured. 

Taking a deep, pained breath, Chiro steeled himself to begin running again. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Antauri gasped, which drew the gazes of his team members. 

“What is it?” Nova asked. 

“Chiro,” Antauri said as he exhaled. “Something is amiss,” 

“What do you mean?” Sprx asked. 

“Are the scanners operating?” Antauri asked, going over to the console. 

“They should be,” Gibson said, standing aside so Antauri could work. 

Antauri turned a few knobs and turned on the view screen. The other four looked up. The screen was covered with many dots, indicating the citizens of Shuggazoom going about their daily life. 

After a few moments, one dot was outlined in red and magnified. 

“I’ve locked onto his communicator,” Antauri said. 

“How come he didn’t call us?” Nova asked. 

“Monkey Team to Chiro, come in Chiro,” Gibson tried. 

All he received was static. 

“He’s only about a hundred yards from us,” Otto said. “But isn’t he supposed to be in school?” 

“I believe so,” Gibson gave Antauri a sideways glance. “You don’t think something is wrong, do you?” 

“I believe it is a very strong possibility. Let’s go get him. Monkeys, mobilize!” 

The five took the elevator down to the ground and started jogging towards Chiro’s position. They found him stumbling towards the robot; they could see he was injured. 

“Chiro!” Nova cried. 

Chiro looked up and smiled when he saw his friends. “Hey guys, what’s up?” 

“What happened?” Gibson asked. 

“Had a bit of a run-in with some of my classmates. Seems I’ve insulted them,” Chiro said with a lop-sided grin. 

“Let’s get you inside,” Gibson said, pulling one of Chiro’s arms over his shoulder. 

“It’s okay Gibson, I can walk,” 

“I don’t think he cares and for once, I'm with him,” Sprx said, taking Chiro’s other arm. 

Chiro opened his mouth to protest. Nova reached up and put a metal finger to his lips. 

“I think you know better than to argue with us,” Nova said with a wink. 

Chiro nodded and allowed him team members to help him. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“I’m sorry to be such a pain,” Chiro said after Gibson was finished with the examination. 

“You are not a pain, Chiro, I think the only pain you are is to yourself,” Gibson said. “Now, what are we going to do about these, er, classmates who did this to you?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Nothing? I think you ought to explain all this to a teacher or some other authority figure, you cannot attend school with these dangerous hooligans.” 

“Oh, uh, school’s done. Today was the last day.” 

Gibson crossed his arms. “Oh?” 

“Yeah, why do you think I came home so early?” 

“Why haven’t you mentioned this to us earlier?” 

“I forgot.” 

“If you say so; I think you ought to take a few days to rest and then you should be fine. There are no broken bones, just a few bruises and cuts. In the meantime, I will make you a new schedule since school is no longer in session.” 

“Sounds great.” 

Gibson left Chiro alone to rest in his room, Chiro sighed. 

“Great, now what?” Chiro stared at the ceiling. “Well, I guess I’m safe here, even if they do send the police after me, why would they search out here?” 

Perhaps it was all for the better, anyway; if he was going to learn to be a leader, he doubted school was going to be much help.


	8. Training Daze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been about a couple of weeks, Chiro’s learning a lot, but will it be enough?

“Chiro! Look out for the building!” Sprx cried. 

“I see it, I see it,” Chiro said, pulling the ship up and away to the right. “Man, Sprx, you make one nervous backseat driver.” 

“I’m letting a kid drive my jet, which isn’t operating at one hundred percent yet to begin with; what do I have to be nervous about?” 

“Cut me some slack, Gibson did say I completed the basic avionics training.” 

“Barely.” 

Chiro piloted the fist rocket back to its proper place. Reattaching to the Super Robot was a little jerky. 

“Careful!” Sprx sighed, exasperated and exhausted. “A’ight kid, I say you still need to work on your maneuvering, and your docking skills need some major smoothing out.” 

Chiro nodded and took off his seatbelt. “Man, I wonder if learning how to drive a car is as bad as this.” 

Sprx watched Chiro leave the rocket. He looked a little disappointed. 

“Ah, come on kid, you didn’t do that bad, really,” Sprx assured him with a pat on the back. “It takes time. Trust me, I wasn’t born a good pilot.” 

Chiro gave him a small smile. “How long did it take you?” 

“The day after.” 

“That’s assuring.” 

Sprx grinned. “So, what’s next, kid?” 

Chiro took a small piece of paper from a pocket. He still had a hard time remembering the schedule Gibson had put him on. 

“Combat training with Nova,” Chiro pointed to the next task on his schedule. 

“Oh, good luck. How’s your arm, by the way?” 

“Better, for the most part. All the wounds are closed up, just my skin still looks a little funny.” 

“Good, then it matches the rest of you.” 

Sprx grinned and ducked as Chiro playfully swung at his head. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“Hm, your footwork is getting better,” Nova said. She slipped behind Chiro and kicked his feet out from under him. “But you gotta use more instinct and feeling.” 

Chiro grimaced as he hit the floor and slowly got back on his feet. 

“You keep telling me that, but how do I actually do that?” 

He bulldozed towards her with all the speed he could muster. Nova sidestepped him and was ready to deliver a spinning back-fist move, but Chiro ducked down and gave an uppercut to her ribs. She flew back and slid across the floor. 

“Hey, not bad,” she said, getting up slowly and rubbing her side. 

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Chiro asked, suddenly worried. 

“Nah, I can take a hit,” Nova grinned. “I think that’ll conclude this training session, you’re not doing too bad, you know.” 

Chiro sighed. “Do you really think so? I keep hearing it, but I’m not sure if I believe it.” 

Nova patted him on the shoulder. “It’ll take time, Chiro, and probably some experience, too.” 

“Experience? That reminds me, what exactly am I training for? I mean, I know I’m supposed to be your leader and everything, but what are we going to be doing?” 

Nova looked away from him. “That question might be better for Antauri to answer.” 

“That’s also another thing, any time I ask a question, you guys tell me to ask Antauri and he never gives me a straight answer, either. He seems to be more leader-like than me, why isn’t he leading you?” 

“I’m not really sure.” 

Chiro took the paper from his pocket again. “I got about forty minutes before my meditation training with him, want to take a walk?” 

“Sure.” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

The two left the robot with Chiro dressed back in his regular clothes. He hadn’t been outside since he left school, except for the couple of times he stepped outside onto the robot’s shoulders. He decided to lead Nova around the abandoned area, afraid to come across anyone who might recognize him. 

“Hey, if anyone comes along, what do we do?” Nova asked. 

“Nothing, I doubt we’ll run into anyone anyway. Why?” 

“Humans aren’t used to seeing us.” 

“Again, I doubt anyone will come to this part of the city. Sprx walked with me before, and if anyone does come along wanting to start anything, we can kick their butts.” 

Nova smiled and they continued walking. 

“Hey Chiro, do you miss your parents?” Nova asked. 

“I guess, I lived more of my life without them than with them. Sometimes, I’m afraid I’m beginning to forget them.” 

“That’s kind of sad, how old were you when-“ 

“I was four, maybe five. I was old enough to remember them and what it felt like when they were around.” 

“Do you miss that?” 

“Sometimes,” he looked over at her with a smile. “But with you guys around, it makes everything feel like home again.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, you guys worry about me, we have fun together, the training, it’s been really cool.” 

“The Super Robot feels more like a real home and family to me with you around too, Chiro,” Nova reached up and held his hand. 

“But?” Chiro asked, somehow sensing there was more to this than Nova let on. 

“You know, we don’t know how we came about or where we come from. It’s like we don’t have parents,” Nova spoke with a hint of sadness in her voice. “All we really know for sure is what we’re made of.” 

“Well that’s a good thing, what are you guys made of anyway? You’re robots, but you obviously have feelings, need to eat, it’s a little weird.” 

“We are real monkeys, it’s just that some of our parts have been replaced with robotic ones.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah, see, we still have some fur,” Nova brought Chiro’s hand to her stomach. Chiro felt she had very short fur, but it was there. “See?” 

“Cool.” 

They walked along silently for a while after that, still holding each other’s hands like a brother and sister would. They both thought about their conversation and both were a bit surprised that the other had been searching for the same thing they had, even if it was subconsciously. 

“Hey, Chiro?” Nova asked. 

“Yeah?” 

“Don’t tell the others what we talked about? I don’t think I’ve told anyone what I told you and if Sprx found out, I don’t think I’d ever hear the end of it.” 

“This conversation is between you and me and it stays with you and me. I promise.” 

They shared another smiled 

“Oh, and Chiro?” 

“Yeah?” 

“What time is it?” 

Chiro blinked. “Uh oh.” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“Antauri?” 

“Come in, Chiro.” 

Chiro walked into Antauri’s room slowly. “I’m really sorry.” 

“Your tardiness is not acceptable, your meditation training is important.” 

“I know and I really am sorry. I took a walk with Nova and we forgot the time.” 

Antauri nodded. “You two seem to have reached an understanding on your own levels, do you mind if I inquire what conversation took place?” 

“I promised Nova we’d keep it between us.” 

“I understand. Please be seated, Chiro, and we will begin.” 

Chiro sat across from Antauri, crossing his legs and putting his hands on his knees so he mirrored the black monkey. 

“Please begin with the basics, start from thirty,” Antauri instructed. 

Chiro closed his eyes and focused his mind. His basic meditation exercises were about breathing and focusing his mind on one thing at a time. Numbers were first. He focused on the number thirty, when he saw the number clear in his mind without any other thoughts or distractions, he could move onto twenty-nine. 

At first, this exercise would take Chiro nearly an hour. This time, he was able to accomplish the task in just over twenty minutes. 

“Very good, Chiro,” Antauri said, feeling Chiro’s mind become completely focused. “Now, put yourself in your own training field, I will use telepathic suggestions to test your newly attained focus.” 

Chiro let his mind choose an appropriate battle field. The one that was most often used during his holographic training sessions with Nova was a rocky quarry. The surrounding mountains of brown rock were familiar and comforting. This was Chiro’s turf and he knew it. He stood in the center, waiting for whatever Antauri was going to throw at him. 

Suddenly, the surrounding rocks began to spin. The brown dirt below him was beginning to swirl with a black substance. The ground began to ooze over his feet. He lifted him feet, trying to get away. 

“What is this?” Chiro demanded. 

Dark figures began to come up out of the oozing muck. They looked like skeletons, black ooze hanging off their bones like dead skin and muscle. 

“What the-“ 

Chiro didn’t have too much time to think about what these creatures were before they surrounded him and started to close in. He punched at one, but his fist just sunk into its torso and was stuck. He struggled to pull it out, but it was no use and the others were coming closer. 

“Stay away!” Chiro yelled, fear suddenly overcoming his mind. 

They didn’t pay him any attention; instead they had come closer and seemed to be growing bigger. 

The more Chiro struggled, the closer his enemies got to him, the more fear began to control him. 

“Chiro! Focus! Focus and anything is possible!” 

“Antauri?” Chiro called out fearfully. “Antauri! Help!” 

The skeletons finally overwhelmed him, and Chiro was consumed by darkness. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“Chiro? Chiro!” 

Outside his mind, Chiro had collapsed to one side. Antauri came out of his meditative state and was next to him at once, shaking him and calling his name. There was no response. 

“Monkeys, we have an emergency!” Antauri called out to the others. 

It barely took them twenty seconds to arrive at Antauri’s door. 

“What happened?” Otto asked. 

“I am not sure, we were doing a meditation exercise and something had interfered with Chiro’s meditative state,” Antauri explained. 

Gibson took out a scanner. “It is as if he is sleeping, there’s nothing abnormal.” 

“Besides the fact that he won’t move,” Sprx said, nudging Chiro’s side. 

Antauri closed his eyes and put a hand on Chiro’s forehead. “Hm, he is still in a meditative state, however. He is trapped.” 

“How in the world do you get trapped in meditation?” Gibson asked. 

“Ah!” Antauri ripped his hand away from Chiro suddenly. 

“What is it?” Nova asked. 

“It’s him,” Antauri said darkly. “He’s tapped into Chiro’s consciousness somehow.” 

“You don’t seriously mean-” Sprx started. 

“I do. Skeleton King is coming.”


	9. Touched by Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chiro meets the Skeleton King, kind of…and, yeah, for the most part the others don’t have much faith in the Power Primate at first. Very sorry but this chapter is kinda short.

“You can’t be serious!” Sprx exclaimed. “The kid’s not ready, Antauri!” 

“Ready or not, Skeleton King is here,” Antauri said. “His attack has begun and his first target is Chiro’s mind.” 

“What will he do to him?” Otto asked. 

“He’ll exploit his fears, turn his logic against him and basically tear him apart from the inside out,” Antauri said darkly. “Or, at least he will attempt to.” 

“Whoa, that sounds kinda serious,” Otto said. 

“Just a little,” Sprx added grimly. 

Gibson shook his head, digging the heel of his palm into his forehead. 

“What are we going to do?” Nova asked, looking down at Chiro worriedly. 

“We must put together our energy to help him,” Antauri said. 

“Oh, man, not this Power Primate stuff again, Antauri,” Sprx groaned. 

“We must believe that it will work, who knows what condition this mental attack will put Chiro in to begin with,” Gibson said. 

Antauri couldn’t help but smirk. “Are you saying that you are willing to show a little bit of faith, Gibson?” 

“Are you guys gonna talk, or are we gonna do this?” Nova asked. 

“Right,” Gibson agreed. 

They all gathered around Chiro and closed their eyes, pulling together the energy they all drew from the Power Primate and focusing it on their human friend. 

“This had better work,” Sprx said, then he added to himself, _'because if it doesn’t, I don’t think I can forgive myself.'_

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Chiro didn’t know how long his world was going to spin out of control or how long the darkness was going to last. Fear, uncertainty, despair, and loneliness threatened to swallow him whole. 

“Monkey Team, I will destroy you all,” a deep, dark voice reverberated around him. 

“Huh?” 

Suddenly everything came to a stop. Chiro still felt pressure around him, like he was still under all the skeleton figures. The darkness covered him like thick water. 

“You cannot escape, little one,” the voice continued. “I will destroy you all one at a time.” 

“Who are you?” Chiro asked, fright very apparent in his voice. 

“I, Skeleton King, will destroy you all,” the voice was apparently ignoring him. 

“I won’t let you destroy my friends!” Chiro cried, determined to stay brave. 

Skeleton King laughed. “You are out of commission, now it will only be a matter of time. You cannot escape.” 

The confusion began again, Chiro found himself once again in the drowning current of his own doubt and fear. 

Suddenly, he was dropped on a hard surface, knocking the wind out of him. Chiro gasped and struggled to get to his feet. Another gasp escaped from him when he saw where he was. 

The hard surface was a metal circle, barely more than five feet in diameter. Surrounding him was a very active ocean, white peaks dotted the black waves. 

“Oh, no,” Chiro whispered to himself. 

“Observe,” the voice of the one who called himself Skeleton King boomed across the dark gray sky. 

“Chiro! Help us!” 

Chiro looked around. About fifty feet away in each direction around him, the monkeys were being held captive in separate energy fields. 

“Monkey Team!” Chiro cried. 

They continued calling out to him, pleading for help. 

“I can’t get to you guys! I don’t know how to swim!” Chiro called out to them. 

They all began screaming in pain. It was just as torturing to Chiro to watch them. 

“Surrender and I will release them,” Skeleton King said. 

“Don’t do it, kid!” Sprx managed to yell. 

“Don’t give him the satisfaction!” Nova added. 

Chiro watched for only one more tormenting moment. He didn’t care what they said, he was not about to lose his new family. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll do whatever you want!” Chiro said, angrily wiping away the tears that started coming from his eyes. “Just let them go!” 

“You will do what I want, eh?” Skeleton King said. He let out a dark chuckle that immediately made Chiro feel a twinge of regret for what he said. “Then die,” 

A severe pain ripped through Chiro’s mind and body, he collapsed onto the metal surface, every nerve twitching uncontrollably. He struggled to open his eyes and saw that his teammates were still being held and tortured. 

“You said you’d let them go!” Chiro yelled. 

“I lied, you fool!” 

A horrible laugh echoed through the air, which only made the pain worse. 

Chiro mentally cursed himself for being weak. Antauri was not going to be happy with him at all. Neither of them would forgive him, how could they? Chiro was never going to forgive himself. 

That is, if by some miracle, he lived through this. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“Chiro.” 

The teenager didn’t realize how long he had been suffering before the voice offered some relief. 

“Believe in yourself and the Power Primate. Gather your energy and use it.” 

“Antauri?” 

“Gather your energy and fight.” 

“I’ll try.” 

Chiro squeezed his eyes shut even tighter than before. He felt an odd power inside him. He wasn’t sure whether it was better or worse than the torture Skeleton King was putting him through. 

“Trust the Power Primate,” Antauri’s voice was growing stronger. 

This new power filled his body with warmth while the torturous pain from Skeleton King was fading. However, a new pain was taking place. This power inside Chiro grew, a green, somehow familiar, force field surrounded him. 

“No, I will not lose!” Skeleton King growled. 

The new pain Chiro experienced was from his resisting the power that was slowly threatening to take over. 

This new struggle only lasted another few minutes before Chiro had to give up and allow it to pass. After all he had been through, he barely cared if he died as long as the Monkey Team was safe. 

The Monkey Team! 

He looked up. The monkeys were no longer trapped far out in the water, but surrounding him, watching him, the expressions on their faces all told him the same thing; trust. That trust was being directed at him. 

Chiro ignored their expressions for the moment, they were safe and that was what really mattered. He smiled up at them. 

“Get away from here,” he said weakly. 

After that, he closed his eyes and let his last threads of resistance break. Power flowed through him freely, completely expelling everything that felt like Skeleton King. The Skeleton King screamed out his defeat. 

“Not so terrible when I stop fighting,” Chiro murmured to himself, letting his mind be lost among the power that he guessed had to be the Power Primate. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Four of the monkeys gasped when their mental link broke. Antauri opened his eyes and breathed out slowly. The sudden awakening was not as shocking to him as it was for the others. 

“Chiro?” Nova found her voice first, shaking the teenager’s shoulder. 

Gibson took out the scanner again. “There seems to be no change, however, he seems more relaxed than before.” 

“Well, there’s one way to find out,” Sprx said. He bent down and pinched Chiro’s side. 

Chiro let out a very low, barely audible, but very real moan of pain. 

“Sprx!” Gibson said, surprised. 

“What? Just checking, I kicked him before and you didn’t say anything,” Sprx said defensively. 

“Quiet, all of you,” Antauri said, his voice strained and tired. “Let’s get the boy to his room.” 

Otto put his hands on Chiro’s shoulders, ready to help lift him, when the teen let out a wheezing gasp. 

“Chiro!” Otto exclaimed. “You okay?” 

Chiro let out a very weak cough and opened his eyes, but they only opened halfway and it was as if he were blind. 

“Antau-“ he gasped, barely able to speak. “S-s-s-sorry.” 

Then he passed out again. 

Antauri closed his eyes, shaking his head and patting Chiro’s lifeless hand. 

“It will all be okay, Chiro.”


	10. Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The monkeys remember harder days and why Chiro can be trusted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo, a warning…mainly just for some disturbing mental conflict because I think Mandarin is a manipulative little…uhm…yeah.

After Chiro was put into bed, Antauri told the others to take time to rest. They all acknowledged him silently and left the same way. 

The black monkey decided to sit outside. He found a spot on the Super Robot’s shoulder and sat on the edge, looking up at the stars. They were sparkling and bright, the moon known as Ranger Seven was only half-full and cast an eerie glow on their small, empty part of the city. 

Antauri closed his eyes and reflected on that evening. They had spent nearly three hours trying to reach Chiro and bring him back. In one way, it made Antauri happy because that meant that the others did take his meditation exercises enough to heart to merit such a long period of focus. 

However, the entire ordeal was alarming and shocking to them all. Skeleton King has some telepathic abilities and it was those powers that made him a threat when they became activated. They would lead him back to Shuggazoom and to them. 

Beforehand, Skeleton King wasn’t sure where they were. The Monkey Team was given orders and programming to wait for The Chosen One. When that one arrived, Skeleton King would eventually make his return and it was their job to protect Shuggazoom, the universe, and somewhere along the lines, destroy Skeleton King. 

Of course, no one ever realized that this was how Skeleton King would make his return, by launching a mental attack against their human friend. 

But Antauri then realized that Chiro was the only one vulnerable to the attack. He and the others had studied enough to form telepathic walls against such an attack and that alone was over months, if not years, of study. Chiro was still prone to letting his mind wander, as a child is apt to do. 

Ah, but that was something that Antauri and the others sometimes overlooked. Chiro was still just a child. 

Another worry that sometimes tugged at Antauri’s mind was how they would all bond with their new leader-to-be. Memories of the past haunted them all and affected their judgments. Even his own. 

**\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_“Oh, Antauri, you’ll just never get it, will you?”_

_Antauri grunted as he hit the wall. He stood up slowly, eying Mandarin._

_“Just because you’ve mastered telekinesis first doesn’t mean you can fight with it,” Antauri said. “Monkey Mind Scream!”_

_Antauri let loose his attack. Mandarin smirked and activated his shield. The shield not only blocked the attack, but allowed Mandarin to push it back at Antauri, sending him flying into the wall again._

_“You always will be my inferior, I think you ought to come to your senses and accept it,” Mandarin said, turning to leave._

_Antauri took a deep breath, keeping his anger mostly under iron-willed control, but he let go enough to launch another attack. With a screech, he leaped on top of Mandarin and wrestled him to the ground. After a few minutes struggle and after both sustained some heavy scratching, Antauri had Mandarin pinned to the wall by his throat._

_“You underestimate your opponents, Mandarin,” Antauri growled. “I think it is you who should come to his senses and either fix the problem or accept it and know that not everyone is your inferior.”_

_Mandarin only snarled in return. “You’ll learn one of these days, Antauri.”_

_“It is you who needs some more learning.”_

_Their training session was clearly over._

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Antauri’s eyes snapped open at the memory. He hadn’t thought of their previous leader in a very long time. It was Mandarin’s cruelty, severe training exercises, and his irritating self-assurance that he was superior to everyone in every way that made it so hard to get along with him. 

But that was over. All of it long gone, ancient history that taught them all to be wary. 

“Chiro will not be like Mandarin,” Antauri said out loud to the night, as if assuring himself. “He’s an innocent, a child, he has a good heart, and until tonight, a clear mind. I just hope this attack won’t cause too much of a storm.” 

Antauri stood up, taking a look down to the ground, and then turning to go back inside. 

“I must check on him.” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Sprx paced in his room; like Antauri, he was running the nights events over in his mind, too. He and Nova were replacing some of the wiring when Antauri’s call reached them. He was shocked to be told that the enemy they had been waiting for had launched an unexpected attack in the most unlikely of places. 

He had always imagined the first attack; Skeleton King would be detected by the Super Robot’s sensors long before he reached Shuggazoom. The Monkey Team would be ready with an ambush. Then they would play the waiting game; the bag o’ bones would arrive, slam, bam, wham, and it would be all over. 

Of course, the best laid plans of men and monkeys. Or was it monkeys and men? 

Sprx was a little more than shaken by the experience. He had a few odd mental experiences, but this was beyond anything he ever felt before. It frightened him at first, because there was no evidence that the others were there with him. There was only darkness and a sense of dread; Sprx never felt more alone in his life. 

Then suddenly, he felt himself brush against another consciousness. He clung to it and saw it was Chiro. The boy was suffering and crying out for help. 

Along with his pain was something else. It was cold, dark, and it reminded him too well of memories he wished he didn’t have. 

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_The room was dark and at first, it looked empty. Sprx knew better._

_“I know you’re here somewhere, come on out and play,” Sprx called, almost taunting._

_“Be careful what you wish for, one of these days, you may regret it.”_

_A blow to his knees made him fall. Sprx rolled to the side and got to his feet, alert for the next attack. It came to his left, he blocked and struck back. Red sparks from his magnets met the blue light-sword that his attacker wielded._

_It took about ten minutes before Sprx finally got the best of his attacker, standing over him; his magnet captured the wrist that controlled the light-sword._

_“Heh, not so tough now, are ya?” Sprx asked._

_“Your overconfidence is terribly unbearable.”_

_Sprx suddenly screamed as pain ripped through his mind. He reeled back, his hands clutching the sides of his helmet. He finally collapsed, still screaming, his attacker stood over him, red eyes gleaming._

_“That will be the last time you cross my path, Sparky.”_

_Then the world faded out._

_When Sprx awoke again, he found that he was severely damaged. Gibson assured him that Antauri had a long talk with the orange monkey. It didn’t matter who said what to him, Sprx felt betrayed. Again. Mandarin had promised never to hurt any of them, he promised to protect them, and he promised that they would serve the purpose for which they were built._

_Whatever a leader promised, Sprx learned that he couldn’t deliver._

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------**

“Chiro’s different,” Sprx murmured. “The kid understands; he has to.” 

Sprx caught his reflection in the window of his sleeping pod. He went close and looked himself deep into his own eyes. 

“Chiro is not Mandarin. Never was, never will be,” Sprx said, making sure his own voice held no room for any doubt. “You like the kid. You know he’d never leave you alone, and I can’t leave him alone.” 

Sprx left his room and headed towards Chiro’s. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Gibson worked furiously at his computers. He was now worried about being prepared for Skeleton King’s attack. They figured they had time, time to get the Super Robot up to speed, hone their skills, and train Chiro. 

Gibson sighed, stopping his work and resting his head on the wall. He remembered it being said that sometimes there’s no amount of training that can replace actual experience. 

The scientist knew that he wasn’t too much on faith to the extent that Antauri was. It wasn’t that Gibson was completely without it, he just preferred flawless logic and reasonable explanations as opposed to mystical forces. 

He may be light on faith, but not on hope. Always had been, always planned to be. 

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_“How in the world did a virus infect the computer?” Mandarin demanded, watching Gibson pounding away at the controls._

_“I wish I could tell you,” Gibson said, only half-paying attention to his leader._

_Mandarin grabbed Gibson’s shoulder and turned him around harshly._

_“That is not the answer I want to hear, Gibson. I want a reason and an explanation and I wanted it five minutes ago.”_

_Gibson narrowed his eyes and pushed Mandarin’s hands off._

_“I can’t explain away a computer virus the way you and Antauri explain away the weather,” Gibson said coldly. “This will take time, work, and a little hope to restore the system as it once was.”_

_“Hope,” Mandarin sneered. “Rubbish. The system is lost. Wipe it clean and start from the beginning.”_

_“Are you out of your mind? Do you realize how long it will take to restore the system to what it is now?”_

_“That is an order, Mr. Hal Gibson.”_

_With that, Mandarin turned away and left._

_Gibson glared after him. Mandarin’s impatience seemed to grow with each passing day and he was becoming more aggressive. It made Gibson feel sick to think about what it could possibly mean._

_The next nine hours were spent working to clear the virus from the computer systems. Antauri came around looking for him when the tenth hour started._

_“Gibson? You’ve missed your skills training, lunch, and dinner. Mandarin had mentioned you were clearing a virus from the systems?” Antauri asked._

_“That is correct, Antauri,” Gibson murmured, not stopping._

_“Perhaps it is time to take a moment to rest?”_

_“No, I’m not giving up.”_

_Antauri watched silently for a few more minutes. Finally, Gibson gave a long sigh of relief and sat down on the floor._

_“The virus is gone,” he said. “Hope can spring eternal after all, I guess.”_

_Antauri smiled at his companion. “Hope is something no one can live without, Gibson.”_

_Gibson could only smile back at him. Mandarin was wrong, and it helped to know that he could share that with someone._

_“Now, let’s get you some nourishment or some rest before you faint,” Antauri said._

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Gibson smiled at the memory. Steeling his senses again, he resumed working. Even if there was no time, he could still make sure they were prepared. 

But something else tugged on his mind. He wasn’t sure why, but he was still worried about Chiro. He had to check on him. 

Leaving everything as it was without cleaning up, which was a first for the scientist, he started down the hall towards Chiro’s room. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Nova was doing what she usually did when she was supposed to be resting; not listening to the order and instead beating on her punching bags. However, tonight, she didn’t hit them so hard or with so much enthusiasm. Her mind was elsewhere. 

What was going to happen to Chiro, now? His mind had been touched by evil, how would that affect him? Would it make him weak and vulnerable? Would it be no more than a passing illness would be? Or would it be worse and make Chiro turn like someone else they knew? 

Nova shuddered as the old memory came back to haunt her. 

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_“What is the point of all of this!” Nova screamed, pounding on the windows to the control room._

_Mandarin smirked at her, his arms crossed. “You must learn to bear it, Nova, my dear.”_

_Nova glowered at him as he turned the dial to a lower temperature. On instinct, Nova wrapped her tail around herself to help keep warm._

_“I do remember what happened last time, Mandarin, I might just let it happen again.”_

_“And go against Antauri’s order?” Mandarin gave a fake gasp of shock. “Why Nova, I didn’t know you had it in you.”_

_Nova’s eyes began to glow as her temper rose. Mandarin only smirked and pressed a button on his wrist. Nova twitched for a moment, then fell to the ground._

_Mandarin came into the room and looked down at her._

_“What did you do to me, you jerk?” Nova asked through clenched teeth._

_“I’m having your system shut down, I think you need a time out, little Nova.”_

_With that, Mandarin walked away. The system was still on its coldest setting._

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Nova had told Antauri about the system shut down trick that Mandarin had and he had immediately reprogrammed it. In a matter of days, Mandarin had been exiled. 

Would this brush with evil do the same to Chiro? Would he turn into a mean-spirited leader, bent on his own superiority? Would the torturous training sessions that were “good for them” return? 

But then Nova remembered the walk they took that afternoon. Chiro and she had a lot in common that no one could see on the surface. They both wanted parents and a link back to their pasts. Chiro wanted Nova to help him learn; otherwise perhaps he would have given up, stopped training, or run away. 

“He has to be different,” Nova told herself as she left her room to go to Chiro’s. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Otto lay on his stomach in his room. He poked at the handful of small machine parts he placed on the floor. The inventor never minded being sent to his room when Antauri told him to rest when he wasn’t really tired. Instead, he usually used the time to work on his many ideas for gadgets and weapons, even though they weren’t always necessary. 

But now, the inventors mind just wasn’t into it. 

It was a little unlike Otto to dwell on negative thoughts; he liked looking on the bright side, cracking jokes, and reminding his companions how to loosen up and not be so serious. It was Otto’s lot in life and he liked it. 

Otto could only think of one other time where he willingly acted unlike himself. He hated to think of having to return to that. 

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_Otto slowly opened his eyes and got to his feet, looking around for a certain orange monkey._

_“Come on out, you sorry excuse for a primate,” Otto muttered, having a saw out and ready for action._

_It had been finally revealed that instead of protecting Shuggazoom, Mandarin sought to rule it with an iron fist._

_This revelation had left Otto confused and angry. What had driven Mandarin to this? Were there signs and he just missed them? Why didn’t Mandarin ever just talk to them, they were friends, family, weren’t they?_

_“Dwelling in despair can be a dangerous thing, my brother.”_

_Otto turned but it was too late. Mandarin swung the heavy board to his head and knocked him nearly five feet away. Otto grunted and forced himself back to his feet._

_“I’m not your brother,” Otto said, glaring at Mandarin. “If you really feel like I'm your brother, you would have talked to me, or at least tell me why you’re doing this.”_

_Mandarin smirked and then suddenly he was in front of Otto. It surprised the green monkey enough to back up until his backside hit a rock surface. Mandarin put one hand over Otto’s shoulder, effectively trapping him. Otto swallowed hard._

_“You ask why I’m doing this, well, let me pose a question for you; why aren’t you by my side? I was always under the impression that you were the loyal one.”_

_Otto wanted to tear his eyes away from the orange ones that pierced through his mind and soul. Mandarin was trying to manipulate his feelings against him, again. It only made Otto even angrier._

_With an ear-splitting screech, Otto brought his feet up and kicked Mandarin away. He leaped after him, landing on top of the orange monkey and struck him with all his might._

_“Otto!”_

_At first he ignored the voice. When his name was called a second time, it made him stop for long enough a moment for someone’s hand to grip his wrist. Something circled his waist and pulled him off Mandarin. For a minute Otto struggled until he met the eyes of the one who was holding him back._

_“Gibson?”_

_“You’re a lot stronger than you look, you know that? Must be all the machinery you work with,” Gibson smiled weakly at Otto, his tail unwrapping from Otto’s waist and the grip on his wrist loosened but stayed. “Are you all right?”_

_Otto couldn’t answer. Instead, he looked over at where Mandarin was. Antauri, Nova, and Sprx had him captured and were taking away his weapons. Otto looked back at Gibson with hurt and betrayal very apparent in his gaze._

_Gibson’s eyes looked more sympathetic than Otto had ever seen him. Gibson looked past Otto for a moment to see if the others were looking. Once he figured they weren’t, he pulled Otto in for a hug._

_“You’re all right, Mandarin can’t hurt any of us anymore,” Gibson said._

_Otto nodded and hugged Gibson back. He remembered who could be trusted._

**\-------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Otto smiled. He had Gibson, Sprx, Antauri, Nova, and they had Chiro. They were a team and a family. 

Besides, Chiro would talk to him. They had an understanding. 

“And I’m gonna be there when he wakes up!” Otto said cheerfully, heading out the door and down the hall. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

All five robot monkeys came to Chiro’s door at about the same time. 

“So much for resting,” Gibson said. 

“So, what are the excuses for not following my order?” Antauri asked. He was more amused than irritated. 

“The same reason as you,” Nova said. 

“We’re all worried about the kid,” Sprx added. 

Antauri smiled and nodded as he opened the door and they went inside. 

Chiro was still sleeping. They each found a spot to lean or sit. 

“Do you think he’ll be okay, Antauri?” Otto asked, pulling himself onto the shelf next Chiro’s bed. 

“Only time will tell, Otto,” Antauri said, taking a spot on the floor to cross his legs. He closed his eyes, and moments later, he was floating. “I sense calm in his mind, so I can only assume that he will be okay.” 

They were silent as they waited, each one lost in their own thoughts, though they didn’t have to wait for long. 

Chiro slowly raised his hand to his head and grunted as he sat up. 

“Man, what hit me?” he murmured. 

The monkeys all looked up at once and gathered around Chiro. 

“How do you feel?” Antauri asked. 

“Like I got hit by a truck,” Chiro shook his head and looked around at his friends. Suddenly, the memory of his mental attack came back like a tidal wave. He blinked a few times and shook his head again. “Oh, man, you guys, I’m sorry.” 

“For what?” Nova asked. 

“You all got captured, I couldn’t do anything about it, and he was hurting you guys, and, and there was just nothing I could do about it,” Chiro’s hands started to shake. “You were all captured and it was all my fault.” 

They all exchanged worried glances as the shaking moved from Chiro’s hands to his arms. His eyes were wide, becoming more frightened by the memory. 

Gibson put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re all right now, Chiro. You’re with us and we’re quite safe. None of what you saw really happened.” 

Chiro turned his frightened gaze to Gibson. “B-but I saw it happen, I felt everything, I could feel you guys-” 

“What you saw was a telepathic suggestion,” Gibson said, trying to sound assuring. “Its purpose was to frighten you, make you unsure and make your mind unstable.” 

“I’m sorry, Antauri, but it worked,” Chiro murmured, looking down. 

“Doesn’t look like that to me. Sure, you’re a bit shaken up, that’s for sure, but you still look as stable as the day you met us,” Sprx looked up thoughtfully. “Well, come to think of it, I’m not sure how assuring that is.” 

“Sprx!” Nova grumbled, punching his shoulder. 

It was enough to make Chiro smile a little. 

“So, who is Skeleton King?” Chiro asked. 

“The reason for your training,” Antauri explained. “Skeleton King has some telepathic abilities, I never thought he would try to use them against you.” 

“Well, what am I going to do?” Chiro asked. “I can’t be caught up in some dream all the time.” 

“And you won’t. Part of your meditation training will include putting up blocks and walls. It’s simple enough; I believe you have the focus to do it now.” 

“That simple, huh?” 

“Yeah, you just imagine a white wall and you can keep anyone out,” Otto said. 

Everyone stared at him for a moment. 

“You remember how to do that?” Sprx asked. 

“Well, yeah,” Otto said, scratching his head and looking at the floor. “You guys do, too.” 

“Yeah, but, you don’t usually remember that stuff,” Nova said. 

“Anyway, what does all this mean now?” Chiro asked. 

“It means we have less time than we originally planned,” Gibson said. “It means that our enemy will be showing his face and we had better get a move on with repairing the rest of the robot and our training.” 

“What do you say, kid? You still up to it?” Sprx asked. 

Chiro frowned slightly, looking down into his lap. The monkeys tried to see the look in his eyes, worried that their friend really wasn’t up for the challenge. 

“You know, back when I was little, I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said that I wanted to be a superhero,” Chiro said softly. He looked up at his friends with a smile. “Well, I’d be making a pretty bad career move if I was to back out now.” 

They all shared a smile. Chiro was going to be okay. 

“Well, I’m up for a snack, how about everyone else?” Sprx asked. 

“Oo! Oo! Me!” Otto said, waving his hand like a child. 

“I believe I have an idea for something tasty,” Gibson said. “Come on, you three can help.” 

Gibson ushered Otto, Sprx, and Nova out of Chiro’s room. Antauri went to leave as well until Chiro’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

“Antauri?” Chiro said. “I, I’m really sorry about earlier.” 

“Chiro, you have nothing to apologize for. It was a surprise attack that you had no hopes of preparing for. Nothing you did was wrong, nor do I look down on or disapprove of you,” Antauri turned to look the boy in his eyes. “Although we hope for victory, we must learn to take, expect, and sometimes accept, defeat. Look at this evening’s adventure as the opportunity to view what sort of evil we will be encountering.” 

“But he knows who I am, he knows my fears.” 

“No, he does not know who you are. He merely tapped into your fears and turned them against you, however the fears themselves may not be apparent to him. Whatever fantasy you had seen was created by your own mind, just a mere suggestion by Skeleton King.” 

Chiro rubbed his head. “Sounds confusing, I still don’t feel safe.” 

“For now, imagine a white wall against your uncertainties and fears. You are with friends, you are safe, and for now, we will relax and start again tomorrow.” 

Chiro nodded and followed Antauri to the kitchen, where they found a new set of chaos. 

Gibson and Sprx were arguing over whether to add an ingredient or not. Nova looked mortified; she was covered in orange-colored goop that looked like melted cheese. Otto was covered, too, and was sitting in a puddle of it, licking the stuff off of his fingers. 

Antauri sighed and shook his head. Chiro just laughed.


	11. The Day After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team worries about Chiro in a few different ways, but Chiro proves he’s made of stronger stuff.

The next few days went on normally; training resumed, the robot’s rewiring and upgrading was on schedule as they planned, the only difference was that a cloud of uncertainty and urgency hung heavily in the air. 

Skeleton King’s attack made the monkey team realize that they really didn’t know what they would be up against, nor did they know what sort of attack to expect. Now, the days before Skeleton King arrived were truly numbered. 

“So, Gibson, how long before the entire robot is completely up and running?” Chiro asked after the two finished rewiring the navigational system for the foot cruisers. 

“I estimate we are around ninety-six percent completion,” Gibson said. “I’m a little concerned about the heating mechanisms; I think we need more power coils.” 

“Okay, where do we get those?” 

“Otto usually makes them.” 

“Really?” 

“Affirmative. Many of our replacement parts have been made by Otto. Despite his outward buffoon-like actions, he does have moments of brilliance.” 

“Yeah, I got that feeling.” 

Gibson tilted his head and gave Chiro an odd look. “I‘m going to go ask him for some power coils. Could I trouble you to initiate another test on the navigation system?” 

“Sure thing, Gibson,” Chiro smiled. 

It didn’t take long for Gibson to find Otto. He was sitting on the floor in his room, playing around with a new invention. 

“What are you working on this time, Otto?” Gibson asked. 

“This will be an extra environmental stabilizer, if I can get it to work,” Otto said, putting it aside with a sigh. He lay back, closing his eyes. “How’re the navigational systems?” 

“They are in an acceptable condition. I came to ask if we had any power coils for the heat mechanisms.” 

“Yeah, check in the cargo bay, probably in the back right-hand corner.” 

“Ah, my thanks.” 

Gibson didn’t move to leave. Otto opened one eye and saw Gibson as he stood there, looking more like a lost young one staring at the floor than the resident scientist of the Hyper Force. 

“What’s up?” Otto asked, getting to his feet. 

“I’m still a tad concerned about Chiro,” Gibson said confidingly. “He has been lacking in vocal confidentiality and I fear his negative mental and spiritual experience has caused more harm than we-” 

Otto put a hand over Gibson’s mouth with a chuckle. “Take a Chiro walk.” 

Gibson pushed Otto’s hand away. “A what?” 

“A Chiro walk. Talk to him. But talk to him like you do when you’re explaining physics to Sprx.” 

“Hmph. What, pray tell, is wrong with my choice of words?” 

“Sometimes we need a dictionary.” 

Gibson sighed. “Okay, okay.” 

Otto grinned and waved at Gibson’s departing backside. “Have fun!” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“Which way should we go?” Gibson asked. 

Chiro looked around. He was still a little wary coming outside, but he figured he couldn’t stay cooped up in the robot forever. 

“I guess let’s just circle around the block?” he suggested. “It’s all abandoned anyhow.” 

They started going east. As they walked, they looked up at the tall buildings and marveled at how nothing seemed to be wrong at all. There was some moss overgrowth on the buildings, but otherwise, it seemed habitable enough. 

“What do you suppose keeps everyone away from here?” Chiro asked. 

“The history files had stated that this area went to ruin after a tsunami, or tidal wave. Some of the remnants of the city are said to still be underwater,” Gibson said. 

“Whoa,” Chiro breathed. “So, I guess everyone’s afraid to come back in case it floods again?” 

“Well, perhaps, that would be a little unenlightened of the Shuggazoomians, considering another tidal wave, if bad enough, could wipe out the entire city. Not to mention quakes and freak storm systems.” 

Chiro laughed a little. “I guess. Do you think anyone would ever come back?” 

“I assume perhaps when the need for either business or living space becomes greater than their own fears, then we can begin to see more of the people of Shuggazoom around.” 

“Well, I can wait.” 

Gibson looked up at his human friend. “Is everything all right, Chiro? Ever since, you know, you’ve been a tad reclusive.” 

“What?” 

“You’ve been quiet, keeping more to yourself. If there’s ever anything you want to talk about, you can talk to any of us.” 

“Oh, I know,” Chiro gave him a smile. “I’m sorry if I worried you, I have been just thinking a lot.” 

They found an old bench, and they both decided to sit. Gibson swung his legs slightly. 

“Care to share your thoughts?” Gibson asked. 

Chiro sighed. 

“How can you guys be so sure I’m up for all of this? I couldn’t even get over my fears.” 

“One thing you have to remember, Chiro, is that we all have something to fear. Sometimes, yes, they can overwhelm us, however we have to take them like any other fall we may experience and pick ourselves up again.” 

“Why is it so hard to do, though? I feel like every time I close my eyes, I still see what happens.” 

“Did you try talking out your fears?” 

“No, not really.” 

“I am all ears, if you wish to entrust me with your tale.” 

Chiro looked over at Gibson with a sad sort of smile. “I’m afraid of losing you guys.” 

“Why do you fear that?” 

Chiro gave him a more serious look. “You don’t worry about losing one of the others?” 

“Well, er, it is a concern.” 

“Do you guys have emotions? Or is that all robotic, too?” 

“Why, of course we have emotions, Chiro. They are just as fragile and sometimes unpredictable as your own.” 

Chiro smiled slightly. “Uh huh, so, what are you afraid of?” 

“I was under the impression that this conversation was about you.” 

“Well, yeah, but I told you one of my fears, I think you should tell me one of yours.” 

Gibson smirked. “And what if I don’t fear anything?” 

“You just said that we all have something to fear.” 

Gibson shifted uncomfortably. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. 

“Come on, Gibson, I promise I won’t tell anyone.” 

Gibson was still silent. 

“Is it that bad?” 

“No, I suppose not and perhaps it’s a little silly, but honestly, I see the way he acts, and-” Gibson shuddered as he cut himself off. 

Chiro gave him a clearly confused look. “I think you lost me, buddy.” 

“Sprx. The way he acts around Nova.” 

“Ah ha, so there is something going on between those two. I knew I wasn’t crazy.” 

“Well, I’m not certain how Nova feels, but Sprx makes a complete and utter dolt of himself. 

Nova’s too smart for all of his inane antics.” 

“But you’re smart enough for her.” 

Gibson shook his head. “Oh, no, Nova and I are friends to be sure, I could never bring it further than that.” 

“Why not? You trying to tell me you like someone else?” 

“No, that is my fear. I don’t ever want to act as ridiculous as Sprx.” 

“Oh, I see, you’re afraid to fall in love.” 

“I suppose. I just can’t imagine putting myself in a position of such indignation for someone’s affections.” 

“Know what? Me neither.” 

They smiled at each other and Gibson slid off the bench. 

“So, what will you do now about your fears?” Gibson asked. 

“I’ll just have to deal with it. Someway, somehow, as best as I can.” 

“Sounds like an adequate plan thus far. Well, let’s get going back to the robot. I believe you have another piloting session with Sprx.” 

“Oh boy, more backseat driving.” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“Hey, Antauri? Are you busy?” Nova asked, poking her head through his bedroom door. 

“No, Nova, I am not busy. Do you need help?” 

“Well, not really, I wanted to ask if you were up for sparring. Mind versus matter?” 

Antauri smiled. “Of course.” 

They went into an empty training room. They faced each other, bowed for respect, then both of their demeanors changed. Nova’s face hardened into that of an experienced warrior. Antauri’s calm facade was still there, however, a fire burned underneath the surface. 

They started out circling each other. Sizing up was hardly necessary. Nova’s hands were up and ready, closed into fists. Antauri’s hands were up, too, but they stayed open. 

Suddenly, Nova pounced forward. Antauri blocked her first punch, then her kick, and moved in to strike, but Nova leaned back slightly to evade and used her tail to trip him. 

Antauri fell, but quickly rolled away and floated back onto his feet. 

“Very clever, Nova.” 

“Thanks.” 

Antauri whipped around, using his own tail to attack, trying to wrap it around Nova’s waist. She made a nimble leap, but somehow Antauri’s clawed raked her back lightly. She screeched in surprise, still airborne, and tried to twist around to counter, but suddenly she was knocked aside by a kick. 

“How did you do that?” Nova asked. 

Antauri smiled while opening and closing his claws. “It’s a technique I’ve been working on.” 

“Huh, you’re not so bad yourself, then.” 

“Why, thank you.” 

Nova got up and attacked again, the two exchanged blows back and forth. 

“So, what have you told Chiro so far?” Nova asked while still attacking. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, after Skeleton King’s little surprise attack, what have you told him?” 

“Nothing more than what the boy needed to know.” 

Nova’s eyes narrowed. She grabbed Antauri’s shoulders, fell back, dug her foot into his stomach and launched him over her head. The attack was so unexpected that Antauri didn’t have time to compensate and his back hit the wall, he then slid to the floor with a groan. Nova immediately leaped on top of him, pinning him to the ground. 

“You still didn’t tell him that he’s the Chosen One?” Nova asked, giving Antauri her most serious of stares. 

“Of course not,” Antauri said defensively. “The boy cannot handle that knowledge at this time.” 

“As much as I respect you Antauri, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re full of it. This is only going to end wrong. Chiro is going to experience all these fears, the Power Primate, and all the horrors that come from being in battle and he won’t know why. He’s not going to know how important this all is and he will constantly look at all of it like a game. He’s going to go through his life thinking that he’s playing hero and then something is going to happen that will completely destroy him.” 

Antauri grunted slightly with effort as he finally got his arms free and rolled Nova over. He now had her pinned to the floor. 

“We will not allow it to go that far. I’m not going to keep this from him forever, Nova, however he does have enough on his plate with just the training in and of itself, not to mention dealing with the Power Primate’s energy. I swear from the depths of my being that I will tell him when the time is right.” 

Nova had been struggling while listening, but then sighed and gave up. She looked up at Antauri, her eyes shining with uncertainty and concern. 

“I really care about him, Antauri. I don’t know if I can stand seeing him so hurt again and I know I won’t be able to take it if something really bad happened to him.” 

Antauri nodded and got off of Nova. He helped her up and after seeing the look on her face, he pulled her in for a hug. 

“Nova, would you answer two questions for me?” 

Nova sniffed and nodded. 

“Do you respect me?” 

She nodded again. “More than anyone I know.” 

“Do you trust me?” 

“With my life, the same as the others.” 

“Then know this; Chiro will be hurt, for he has feelings and is as mortal as the rest of us. For everything he survives, he will be stronger for. I promise you, I will tell him when he’s ready and it will be before the lack of this knowledge will hurt him. Trust and respect what strength Chiro has, like you trust and respect me.” 

Nova nodded again, giving Antauri another squeeze before letting go. 

“Thanks, Antauri,” Nova finally smiled. 

Antauri smiled back, and pat Nova on the head. “Don’t forget, Nova, that he is, after all, the Chosen One.” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“So, what’s up, everyone?” Chiro asked. 

They were all in a training room. It was Chiro’s day off, so he found it a little odd that he was called. 

“You have reached a milestone in your training, Chiro,” Antauri said, stepping forward. “It is time you received this.” 

Antauri held out what looked like Chiro’s communicator. Since he had only left the robot once since the incident at school, and the first one was broken, he hadn’t even thought about it. 

“Oh, nearly forgot about this, thanks for fixing it,” Chiro said. 

“It is more than your communicator, Chiro,” Antauri said. “This will allow you better access to your powers, boost your speed, and give you armor,” 

“Yeah, it’s too cool, clip it on!” Otto urged him. 

“Uh, okay.” 

Chiro pinned it onto his shirt. 

“Now, press the left side of the pin,” Antauri instructed. 

Chiro did as he was told. An odd sensation flowed over his skin, like thousands of tiny creatures were crawling all over him. He felt the weight of a different kind of clothing, part of his face was covered, and gloves materialized over his hands. He flexed his fingers and looked down at his outfit. 

“Whoa, what is this?” Chiro asked. 

“It’s called, ‘hyper mode,’ it’s a special type of armor that conforms to your body. No one else can use it but you,” Otto explained, looking very pleased. 

“Why’s that?” Chiro asked. 

“It bonds to your DNA.” 

“Ah.” 

“Do you like it?” Nova asked. 

“Oh, yeah, my favorite colors; white and orange,” he gave the monkeys a grin and a thumbs up. “It’s awesome, thanks you guys.” 

“Thank Otto, he put it together,” Antauri said. 

“Aw, it was nutthin,” Otto looked at the floor, embarrassed but pleased. 

“From now on, you will train in hyper mode. When we are engaged in battle, this is the form you will take,” Antauri explained. 

“Sounds good to me,” Chiro said, looking at his outfit again. 

Chiro caught a reflection of himself. He could see that he also had a bit of a mask. 

He wondered if it would be enough to hide his identity if they went out into public.


	12. Tell the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See, this is why running away is not the best way to solve your problems. And, in case it isn’t completely apparent, I have no idea why they call them Formless...I mean, they do have a form, actually…

“And so, in conclusion, it is to be noted that any space anomalies should be treated with the utmost caution. Only by using the scientific rules that have been put in place can we fix them before they become dangerous, or avoid them at all costs,” Gibson explained. 

“Thank you once again, Mr. Hal Gibson, for letting me get another ten minutes of sleep,” Sprx said with a weak clap. 

Gibson narrowed his eyes and harrumphed at Sprx’s statement. “Well, I’m sure the others have something different in their minds; they can appreciate a good lecture.” 

“Oh, yeah? Check out the kids,” Sprx jerked his thumb to his right where Chiro and Otto were sitting. 

Otto was staring into space and Chiro was dozing off. 

“Ahem,” Antauri said loud enough to shake the two of them out of their stupors. 

“Huh, what?” Chiro muttered. “Ah, sorry Gibson, I did listen to most of it though, really.” 

“You don’t have to humor him, kid, I’ve been telling him for a long, long time that he can be really boring,” Sprx said. 

“You know, listening to my lectures once in a while, like I hear you go on and on about piloting, wouldn’t kill you, Sparky, especially consid-” 

Gibson couldn’t finish. Sprx had tackled him. 

“Don’t ever, ever call me that,” Sprx growled. “You know how much I hate that.” 

“Relax, Sprx,” Nova said, coming up behind him. 

“No! You all know how much I hate that name!” Sprx exclaimed. 

“Sprx, calm yourself,” Antauri said. 

“Come on, you like Gibson too much to really hurt him,” Nova said, putting a hand on Sprx’s shoulder. “And you know it.” 

Sprx shut his eyes tight for a second, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. 

“You irritate me just as much when you don’t even make an attempt to listen,” Gibson said as gently as he could. 

“I listen,” Sprx stood up, helped Gibson to his feet, and smirked. “It doesn’t change the fact that you’re boring.” 

Otto snickered. Gibson harrumphed again and crossed his arms before turning away from his companions. Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded throughout the robot. 

“Is that what I think it is?” Chiro asked. 

“I believe so, everyone to the control room,” Antauri ordered. 

They took their tubes down to the control room. Otto and Gibson were at the consoles, checking scanners and bringing up the view screens. 

“What’s going on?” Nova asked. 

“Nothing is coming up just yet,” Gibson murmured, turning a few more knobs. “There, we should get a better visual.” 

The screen was locked on to the other end of the city. The people of Shuggazoom were running in fear. Black and white skeleton-like figures were rising from the ocean. Their bodies dripped with black ooze, everything they touched lost its color. When they touched a person, they fell to the ground, lifeless. 

“They’re killing everyone!” Chiro exclaimed in horror. 

“No, they aren’t dead,” Gibson said, checking the monitors. “They’ve been drained of energy, that’s all.” 

“However, if the Formless are not defeated, they will never return to normalcy,” Antauri said. 

“Formless?” Chiro asked. 

“See those black and white creatures? That’s what we call them. Skeleton King uses this disgusting black ooze to make them,” Nova explained. 

Chiro blinked. “But they do have a form.” 

“I know, it confused me too,” Otto assured him. 

“Well, they begin life being without form, thus the name,” Sprx said with a shrug. 

“Uhm, okay, well, what do we do about it?” Chiro asked. 

“You’re the leader, it’s your call,” Sprx said. 

“Okay. What’s the Super Robots’ status?” Chiro asked. 

“Most of the rewiring and upgrading has been done, so it should be okay to go,” Gibson said. 

“Let’s give it a try, then. Monkeys, mobilize!” Chiro said, thrusting a fist in the air. 

As they went to their tubes, Chiro pressed on his communicator to switch to hyper mode. Soon they were sped to their own parts of the Super Robot. 

“Foot Crusher Cruiser Six, go!” Nova said when she was strapped in and ready. 

“Foot Crusher Cruiser Five, go!” Otto reported. 

“Fist Rocket Four, go!” Gibson said, grabbing his controls. 

“Fist Rocket Three, go!” Sprx said. 

“Brain Scrambler Pilot Two, go!” Antauri said when he was settled. 

“Torso Tank Driver One, go!” Chiro reported back. “Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force-” 

“Go!” they all said at once. 

It was a slow and creaky start as the engines warmed up and the robot moved limbs that had been still for years. 

“We definitely need oil,” Nova said, gritting her teeth at another loud creak. 

“We need to move the robot around, the creaking should stop momentarily,” Gibson said. 

“I think we ought to go airborne,” Sprx suggested. “We can’t just walk this thing through the city, someone could get hurt.” 

“Good idea, Sprx. Otto, Nova, can you get us off the ground?” Chiro asked. 

“You got it,” Otto said. “Firing foot rockets!” 

The robot was very shaky, but it did lift off. Flying also ended the creaking sounds, for the most part, and it definitely proved to be a faster mode of transportation. 

“We’re about three minutes away from our target. What will be our orders upon arrival?” Antauri asked. 

“I think it might be better if we leave the robot and fight on the ground. There doesn’t seem to be too many of them,” Chiro said. 

“I have an estimate of seventy Formless,” Gibson advised. 

“Oh, wow, well, there are still too many people around, panicking. I don’t think walking the robot around on the ground is such a good idea.” 

“Yeah, it’ll be all like, ‘There’s a giant robot!’ More panic ensues,” Otto said. 

Chiro paused for a moment to think. “Okay, I got it; we’ll land the robot nearby in the emptiest space possible. Antauri, take Sprx and Gibson and cover us from the air.” 

“What are we going to do?” Nova asked. 

“You, Otto, and I will go down on the streets and see what we can do about the people who have already come in contact with the Formless,” Chiro said. “Let’s move, team!” 

“I’m on it!” Sprx said, flipping a few switches. “I got us a place to land.” 

“Chiro, be careful landing. Sprx and Gibson, disengage,” Antauri ordered. 

“Don’t worry,” Chiro said, pressing a few buttons. 

The two Fist Rockets and the Brain Scrambler detached themselves from the Super Robot as it landed. After its feet were firmly on the ground, Chiro, Otto, and Nova left the robot. Immediately upon exiting, fifteen Formless were ready to fight them. 

“Oh, yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!” Nova said. With a screech, she was off. “Boom Boom Wake Up!” 

It was obvious Nova had no problem taking on five or six opponents at a time. 

“Come on, Chiro!” Otto said, eying the rest of the Formless. “Whirling Destructo Saws!” 

“Thunder Punch!” Chiro followed. 

As they fought, more Formless took notice and started gathering around them. 

“There are too many of them!” Chiro cried out, beginning to feel overwhelmed. 

“There’s never too many!” Nova called back, determined to beat back the swarm. 

“Hang on kid, don’t move,” Sprx’s voice came over the communicator. 

The red Fist Rocket flew low over them. Laser bullets shot out, clearing a path of Formless. He turned back after the first pass and began to pick off the ones that were around Chiro. 

“Nice shooting!” Otto said. 

“Definitely,” Chiro agreed. 

“Yeah, well, when you got it, you got it,” Sprx said. They could all imagine the smirk on his face. 

“Chiro, start seeing if you can help the people,” Nova said. 

“Are you sure?” Chiro said, using a kick to keep another Formless away. 

“We have them all covered, go,” Antauri ordered. 

“Okay.” 

Chiro turned and made for the first gray body he came across. It was a middle-aged man in an apron. 

“Hey, mister, are you all right?” Chiro asked, kneeling next to him. 

“Oohh,” he moaned. “I don’t feel so good.” 

“I gotta get you out of here, can you stand up?” 

“No,” he yawned. “Too tired.” 

“We can’t stay here. My name is Chiro, what’s yours?” Chiro figured an attempt at conversation would keep the man awake long enough to get to safety. 

“Mr. Gakslapper, inventor of the Hoverburger,” he spoke very slowly. 

“Well, come on Mr. Gakslapper, I can’t leave you here.” 

Chiro bent down and tried to get the man to his feet, but he was too heavy. Instead, Chiro dragged him to the side and leaned him up against a building. 

Mr. Gakslapper didn’t look very well; his face was gray and pasty, his eyes were closed and his mouth hung open. Chiro tapped the sides of his face in an attempt to wake him, but to no avail. 

“Great,” Chiro murmured. 

“Help!” a boys’ voice cried out. 

“What are these things?” exclaimed another. 

“Hey, I know those voices,” Chiro murmured to himself. Quickly shifting his mental gears, he started running towards where he was sure the voices were coming from. 

Caught between a pillar and the side of a building, surrounded by Formless, were two boys; one tall and skinny, his companion shorter and chubby. 

BT and Glenny. The two were cowering, but they still had the sense to brandish short sticks at the skeleton-like creatures. The Formless seemed tentative, unsure whether to attack or not. 

Chiro waited a moment longer. The two boys deserved to have their energy sucked out of them after all they did to Chiro. Especially after getting the big league bullies to try to beat him up. 

However, his conscience got the better of him and Chiro went towards them. 

“Hey!” Chiro called to the Formless. “Would you feel better if you were picking on someone who’s not so afraid of you?” 

“Who says we’re afraid!” BT called out, but then shrieked as a Formless glared at him. 

Chiro planted his feet and put up his fists. To BT, Glenny, and the Formless, he looked ready to fight with all the confidence in the world and determination. But inside, Chiro’s heart traced, his palms were sweaty and he felt nauseous. 

Chiro briefly wondered if all superheroes felt this way before a battle. 

One of the Formless moved to attack. Chiro blocked the blow meant for his head and punched the Formless in its torso. It reeled back and two more came forward to take its place. Chiro grabbed the arm of one Formless as he kicked the other, then used another kick to the knee of the Formless he had been holding on to to throw off its balance, then used the opportunity to throw it into the other. The defeated Formless melted into puddles of Ooze while the others ran away. 

“You two, get out of here,” Chiro ordered BT and Glenny. 

“Who are you?” Glenny asked. 

“Yeah, you look kinda familiar,” BT said. 

Chiro’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept a cool surface. 

“Unless you want those things to come back and get you, scram. I might not be there next time.” 

With that, Chiro was off. The two boys exchanged glances. 

“Dude, think we ought to tell someone?” Glenny asked. “I mean, do ya think that was really the Monkey Boy?” 

“I dunno, man,” BT said. “But I’m sure they’ll wanna know about these weird things walking around attacking people. Let’s get out of here.” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Chiro looked around at the battlefield. Nova and Otto were doing very well against the Formless, Gibson, Antauri, and Sprx were covering their backs. It all fit in like a puzzle. 

“Chiro, look out!” Nova called. 

Chiro turned around and almost on instinct he did a back kick and caught a Formless square in the mid-section. Immediately, more Formless began ignoring the monkeys and began going after Chiro. 

“Antauri, we’ll be needing some backup around Chiro’s position,” Nova called up to the Brain Scrambler. 

“Roger that, Nova, I’m on my way,” Antauri reported. 

“Otto, start getting the people out of here, I’m going to go help Chiro,” Nova ordered. 

“You got it,” Otto said, running towards the closest human. 

Chiro was doing his best, but the more he fought, more were showing up. He only had a few more minutes before he was in danger of being overwhelmed. 

“Lady Tomahawk!” 

Chiro watched as the four Formless ahead were reduced to puddles of black ooze. 

“Stay still, you two,” Antauri told Chiro and Nova. 

They obeyed and more Formless were blown away by laser blasts. 

“Sprx, take the west side, I’ll get the east, and we’ll meet in the middle,” Gibson said. 

“Sounds like a plan, let’s do it!” Sprx agreed. 

Between the two pilots, more than half of the Formless were destroyed. Moments later, Nova, Chiro, and Antauri finished the rest off. 

It took a while for the effects the Formless had on the people to wear off. Slowly, color returned to their cheeks and clothes and the plants were coming back to life as well. 

“What happened?” an elderly woman asked. 

“That was so, well, weird,” another said. 

The crowd murmured as they came together in the intersection. Antauri, Gibson, and Sprx landed their rockets and joined the rest of their team on the ground. 

“This young man saved us!” Mr. Gakslapper said, running forward and taking Chiro’s hands into his. “You saved us all!” 

Chiro smiled and shook Mr. Gakslapper’s hand. “It’s our job and our pleasure.” 

“Chiro, we ought to go back,” Antauri said. 

The Shuggazoomians stared at the monkey, now noticing them since they heard the chattering. 

“What are those?” 

“Are they aliens?” 

“They’re so cute and tiny!” 

The crowd was beginning to overwhelm them with questions. The robot monkeys were edging closer to Chiro, ready to put their hands up in defense. 

“Please, everyone,” Chiro tried to get everyone’s attention. 

Unfortunately, the police beat him to it. A loud whistle shrilled and quieted the crowd. They parted to allow two officers through to the group of superheroes they were surrounding. 

“You look familiar,” one of the officers said, eying Chiro. “Do you live around here?” 

“A bunch of Formless nearly killed part of the population and he’s worried about where Chiro lives?” Sprx muttered. 

“Shush, I think you’ll only make everyone more suspicious,” Nova murmured back, barely moving her mouth. 

“I, uh, I,” Chiro stammered. 

“Are you deaf, kid? I said, where do you live?” the officer asked again. 

“Tell him you live with us, Chiro,” Otto said, blinking up at him. “It is the truth, isn’t it?” 

“I recognize you; you’re the kid that’s missing!” the second officer said. 

_‘Uh oh’,_ Chiro thought. 

“Uh, well, no, not at all,” Chiro lied through his teeth, taking a step back, which also made Antauri, Nova, and Sprx back up. 

“Yes, you are! I have your picture right here,” the officer pulled out a photograph. 

“Hey, he does look like you,” Otto said, taking a step closer to inspect the photograph. 

“It is you, Chiro,” Gibson said, also stepping in closer. 

“Hey, look kid, get your monkeys under control,” the officer said, sounding slightly nervous. “You’re going to have to come with us to the station so we can figure all of this out.” 

“I have no clue what you’re talking about. We came here to save the city, we did, end of story,” Chiro took another step back, his hands were on Otto and Gibson’s shoulders, pulling them back with him. 

“Chiro, what are you doing?” Antauri asked. 

“Look, we can do this the hard way, or the easy way.” 

Both of the officers reached for Chiro. 

“What in Shuggazoom is that?!” a woman shrieked. 

Everyone turned. Out of the ocean, a purple, green and black object was emerging. The citizens scattered, even more frightened than before. 

“What is that?” Nova asked, watching with the others as the creatures long, spindly legs clambered onto the shore. 

It looked like a spider with extra legs. Its round body had a disgusting mop of what looked like green, rope-like hair. As it came closer, the hair began to move like snakes. 

“Uhg, that is disgusting,” Gibson shuddered. 

“Don’t like spiders, do you?” Sprx asked with a smirk. 

“I loathe all forms of insects and arachnids.” 

“We have to stop that monster,” Antauri said. “Monkeys, mobilize!” 

The monkeys ran to their vehicles. Chiro turned to the officers with a small smile. 

“Sorry officers, got to go save the city,” Chiro saluted them, then ran off. 

“Hey, wait!” the officers started to follow. 

“Help! Police!” Mr. Gakslapper cried out. The two men stopped in their tracks. “We have a lot of hurt people here.” 

The officers blinked at the crowd. 

“No one seems hurt,” one of them said slowly. 

“Oww! My stomach!” one person cried out. 

“I think I got my leg broken!” another added. 

More and more of the crowd started making up injuries and pretending to be ill. The officers had no choice but to help them. 

Mr. Gakslapper looked out towards the newly approaching monster. He could see the Hyperforce’s vehicles flying out to meet it. He smiled. 

“You go get ‘em, kid,” Mr. Gakslapper said. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“What are your orders, Chiro?” Antauri asked. 

They had all banded back together to machinder mode. 

“Let’s start small and see what this thing is made of,” Chiro said. 

“Roger. Firing missiles,” Antauri reported. 

They watched as the missiles found their target atop the monsters head. It recoiled, but only turned towards them. 

“Yeah, that seemed to only make it upset,” Nova said. 

Even though the monster didn’t seem to have a mouth, it let out a deafening roar. 

“Oh, yeah, it’s definitely upset,” Sprx said. “Firing fist rockets!” 

The rockets went flying; the monster ducked, then ran straight at them. 

“That thing is fast,” Gibson said. “Brace for impact!” 

Sprx and Gibson put the robot’s hands in front of them as the monster threw itself at them. The robot slid back. 

The rope-like hair on the monsters head seemed to have a life of its own, for a few thick strands wrapped around the robot’s arms and continued to writhe their way to its head. 

“What is this?” Gibson wondered, activating the scanners and trying to decipher their findings. 

“Ahhh!” Antauri suddenly screamed, then stopped. 

“Antauri!” Chiro cried. “What happened?” 

He looked up at the monitors and saw the head to the robot had turned to stone. 

“Egad! They’re Medusian Snakes!” Gibson cried out. “They’ll turn you into-“ 

One of the snakes looked straight into Gibson’s monitors and cut his sentence short. 

“Stone? Gee, never would have guessed,” Sprx grumbled. “Come on you guys, we need to fight back!” 

Sprx tried to get his fist rocket out of the vice-like grip of the snakes. Otto and Nova were also trying to stay free from the snakes. 

“Hang on guys, I’m going to try something,” Chiro said. 

The outer hull of the robot became electrified. It was enough to make the snakes loosen their grips and the monster backed off. 

“Good one Chiro,” Otto said. 

“Thanks, now let’s all fire all of our weapons together. Hopefully it’ll be enough to destroy that thing,” Chiro said. His fingers paused over the buttons briefly. “I hope this works.” 

The remaining monkeys and Chiro fired their weapons. The monster screeched loudly under the assault, the snakes on its head twisted and blackened under the fire and electrocution, and they slowly fell off. The monster slowly backed away into the ocean and sank once again into its depths. 

“What happened?” Gibson’s voice groaned over the radio. 

“I believe we were transformed into stone, courtesy of the Medusian Snake Monster,” Antauri said. 

“Gibson! Antauri! You’re all right!” Chiro said with relief. 

“The monster wasn’t destroyed, Antauri,” Nova reported. “The spider part went back into the sea,” 

Chiro sat back and sighed. “So, this is what we can expect from Skeleton King? These Formless creatures and monsters like that?” 

“I get the feeling he was just testing us out,” Sprx said grimly. “This can’t be his best against us.” 

“We will fight and find out another day,” Antauri said flatly. “Set course for home, once we arrive, I want everyone to meet in the control room immediately.” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

When they arrived home, everyone gathered as they were ordered. 

“I believe you have some explaining to do, Chiro,” Antauri said, turning to the boy. 

“Uh, for what?” Chiro said. 

“Chiro, those men wanted something from you and they had a picture,” Gibson said. 

Chiro looked down at the floor. Nova stepped up to him and tugged on his sleeve. 

“Chiro, you can tell us. We talk to you, can’t you show us the same faith?” Nova asked. 

Chiro let out a deep sigh, hanging his head in shame. 

“Look guys, I’m really sorry,” Chiro said. 

“I believe if you explain, your apology might be accepted,” Antauri said. 

Chiro and the others sat down, and he started explaining. The Monkey Team was unfamiliar with the workings of Shuggazoom Law, which meant the conversation took a little longer than Chiro wanted it to be. But after the ins and outs were explained, everyone had the true story down. 

“I didn’t mean to lie to you guys,” Chiro said. “When it came to running away from home, I didn’t think it would ever come back and cause any harm. I mean, my foster parents didn’t really care.” 

“And what about school?” Sprx asked. 

“I also didn’t think I’d get mixed up with the school bullies. I was scared, I had promised that I wouldn’t show off and cause trouble with the training you all gave me, and I did, and that meant calling my foster parents.” 

“And eventually leading to all of this,” Gibson pointed out. 

“That was self-defense, Chiro,” Nova said. “We wouldn’t be mad if you were using your training to keep yourself safe as long as you didn’t overdo it.” 

“However, we would be mad if you lie to us like you did,” Gibson said, crossing his arms. 

“I am really sorry, Gibson, I’m sorry everyone,” Chiro said. “I was scared that I would be taken away from you. I was scared that I overdid it.” 

“Now that it’s all out in the open, a solution must be found,” Antauri said. “I do believe that the best option for now is for you to stay right here with us.” 

Chiro nodded, still looking at the ground, still feeling ashamed of his lies. 

“Hey, come on kid, we really do forgive you,” Sprx said, patting Chiro on the back. “Screw up as much as you want, tell us about it, and we’ll forgive you. Of course, if we get killed in the meantime, we might be a little inconsolable.” 

“Sprx,” Nova growled, balling up a fist. 

“What?” Sprx asked. 

Nova grumbled again and hit him in the head. The others laughed. 

“Why is it always me?” Sprx asked, rubbing his head. He then tossed Nova a smirk. “You trying to tell me something?” 

“Nothing other than you being an idiot,” Nova said, throwing a smirk back. 

Chiro smiled, things were going back to normal. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Outside the Super Robot, an elderly gentleman was walking the streets around the abandoned corner of the city. He finally stumbled upon an empty park, and in that park was a certain, building-sized robot. 

“Ah, so this is where they live,” the man said. “Well, I think it’s time Gakslapper moved back into the old neighborhood and brought some life back to it.”


	13. Brief Reprieve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next couple of weeks are interesting. Chiro’s training reaches new heights, worries the monkeys, and finally all of the monkeys have experienced the “Chiro Walk.”

“Thunder Punch!” Chiro called, aiming his attack at the yellow monkey below him. 

Nova easily rolled out of the way and dodged his follow-up attack. 

“Boom Boom Wake Up!” she retaliated. 

Chiro copied her dodging move, but then he suddenly rushed her. 

“Monkey Fu!” 

The blast of energy had caught Nova by surprise. She tried to block but it was too strong and too fast. She went flying a few feet back, and then rolled to a stop. 

“Okay, okay, I give,” Nova said with a small laugh. “I feel like I’ve been doing this for hours.” 

“Well, I think we have been here for about three,” Chiro said, breathing hard but looking as if he could go another round. 

An alarm stopped their conversation. Chiro looked down at his wrist. Nova tilted her head curiously. 

“What’s that?” She asked. 

“It’s a scheduler, I made it with Otto’s help, and speaking of Otto, I’m supposed to have a mechanics lesson with him. See ya!” 

With a wave over his shoulder, Chiro was off. Nova sighed and sat heavily on the ground. A few minutes later, Gibson was walking by and his eye caught Nova. 

“Are you all right?” Gibson asked as he walked inside. 

“Oh, yeah, more surprised than anything, really.” 

“What happened?” Gibson sat down next to her. 

“Chiro and I have been training for a few hours and he beat me. Granted, I did go easy on him, but I didn’t expect him to be that fast or strong.” 

“Affirmative, I have also taken note that Chiro has been learning and training at an accelerated rate ever since we faced that awful arachnid,” Gibson shuddered at the memory. “I am a bit puzzled as to why there’s been such an increase in not only his knowledge but his eagerness for that knowledge.” 

“I guess he saw what the real deal was and went for it,” Nova lay back, folding her hands behind her head. “What do you think will happen if the police do catch up with Chiro?” 

“I am not sure,” Gibson said, crossing his arms and looking down. “It seems that they may take him away from us, it won’t be like we could argue our case with that city. Off-hand we may not come off as the best of guardians.” 

“Oh, come on,” Nova sat up. “We can provide Chiro with a lot more than any human could.” 

“Tell that to the humans, then.” 

Nova opened her mouth and then shut it quickly. One thing they couldn’t escape was the fact that no human, except for Chiro, could understand them. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“How’s it going over there, Chiro?” Otto asked. 

“Okay, I think,” Chiro said, tightening another bolt. 

Otto looked over at where Chiro was tinkering. The blocky machine had occupied most of his mechanics training for two weeks. Otto had never thought to ask when it was, though. 

“What is that, anyways?” Otto decided to ask. 

“Oh,” Chiro wiped some sweat from his forehead, leaving a greasy mark where his hand touched. “I’m trying to make a translator.” 

“A translator? For what?” 

“So that everyone can understand you guys, not just me.” 

“Why? We don’t talk to any of the other humans.” 

“Not now, but maybe one day it’ll be important. What if something happens to me and you need to tell Shuggazoom to evacuate or something? They wouldn’t be able to understand you.” 

“Nothing’s gonna happen to you, Chiro, we wouldn’t let anything happen.” 

“I know the five of you will try, Otto, but what if you just can’t save me?” 

Chiro’s eyes looked distant, Otto frowned. He put a hand on Chiro’s shoulder, pulling slightly so Chiro would look at him. 

“Not one of us would let anything happen to you no matter what. There is no “what if” when it comes to this. Simple as that.” 

Chiro smiled. “Okay, okay, but I’m not going to be too happy if something does happen to any of you because of me.” 

“We know. Don’t worry so much, you’re supposed to be concentrating on that trans-thing-a-ma-bobber.” 

“Translator,” Chiro corrected him. 

“Yeah, that!” Otto grinned at him and then turned back to his own project. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

There was a knock on Antauri’s door. Antauri looked up from his book. 

“Come in,” he called. 

Sprx walked in. “Hey, got a minute?” 

“Of course, Sprx,” Antauri set his book aside. “What is it?” 

Sprx looked around Antauri’s room. He never came to any of the others rooms very often, especially Antauri’s. Sprx would never admit it, but Antauri’s mental powers freaked him out a little. 

“How come you have this?” Sprx asked, indicating the rock garden and taking notice of the circular patterns in the sand. 

“It is part of Feng Shui. It balances the surrounding energy to bring peace and harmony to the space. I also just enjoy the design.” 

“Heh, whatever.” 

“I have the feeling you have come to comment on more than just my choice of room decor, Sprx. Is everything all right?” 

Sprx sighed, finding a place to sit. “Well, you promise not to say anything to the others?” 

“You have my confidence.” 

“Thanks. I’m a little worried about Chiro. I think his first real fight freaked him out a bit.” 

“What makes you say that?” 

“He’s been acting a little funny. He’s been taking leaps in his training. I mean, for the first month or so, his piloting skills were definitely far from perfect, yet within the last two weeks he’s become almost as good as me,” he paused for a second. “Almost.” 

“The others have also voiced concerns about the acceleration in Chiro’s training. The only place he doesn’t seem to be taking as much of a leap is in his mental training. It is as if something is occupying his mind and he can’t keep it under control.” 

“Maybe we should talk to him?” 

“Perhaps.” 

Sprx grinned. “Maybe you should go for a Chiro Walk.” 

“A what?” 

“Ask Otto, I don’t get it either.” 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Antauri and Chiro agreed to go for a walk after dinner. After talking with Sprx, Antauri wanted to know what was in Chiro’s mind, especially since he hadn’t spoken much after their first encounter with the Formless. 

As a matter of fact, it seemed Chiro was all but avoiding the subject entirely. 

The sun was still out when they left. They figured since their neighborhood was still abandoned, the danger of being caught by the police was slim. 

“I would have thought that they would come to this part of town to look for me, a huge robot is a little hard to miss, after all,” Chiro said. 

“I suppose they feel no living creature could survive here,” Antauri said, floating beside Chiro. “Chiro, the reason we are out here is because I would like to talk to you without worrying about the others interrupting. They have expressed concern about your training.” 

“Have I been doing something wrong?” Chiro asked. 

“Not at all, as a matter of fact, we are very pleased with your progress. However, something seems to be troubling you deep inside, for the only place your progression has been inconsistent is with your meditation.” 

“Nah, nothing’s wrong.” 

“Chiro.” 

Chiro sighed. They had come to a bridge that used to overlook a river. It seemed that perhaps years of littering had clogged whatever the water came out of, for a bed of cement was all that was under the bridge, that and trash. Chiro leaned against the railing, Antauri still floated gently beside him. 

“I’m sorry, I still do feel guilty about lying to all of you about school. Also, I still can’t believe I actually survived that first battle. I was so scared Antauri, I might not have looked it, but I was.” 

“That is normal, Chiro. It is frightening to be in battle, and I can’t tell you how proud I am of you for staying focused among such stress. We all are.” 

“Thanks.” 

Chiro smiled at him, but Antauri could still see something below the surface. He put a hand on Chiro’s shoulder. 

“Your thoughts dwell on your parents, is that what has been distracting you?” 

“A little, yeah. Sometimes I wonder if my life would have been different if they were still around.” 

“How long has it been, Chiro?” 

“I was four. I don’t really know what happened, or remember much. I only remember darkness, my parent panicking, there were flashes of light, like there was a thunderstorm, and then they were gone.” 

“And you have no idea what had happened to them?” 

“Nope. No one did. I was found wandering around the streets and I couldn't tell anyone anything.” 

“What happened then?” 

“I was put into an orphanage, then passed from foster to foster. I never felt like I had a family.” 

“You have one now with us, Chiro,” Antauri put a hand on his shoulder. 

Chiro looked at him and they shared a smile. Chiro chuckled a bit. 

“I'd hug you, but that would be a bit weird, wouldn't it?” Chiro said, turning around so his back leaned against the railing. 

Antauri gave him an odd look and put his feet on the ground. “Why do you think it would be weird?” 

“I dunno,” Chiro looked down at the ground, he was almost sorry he had said anything at all. 

“As Sprx would say, too bad.” 

Antauri wrapped his arms around Chiro's waist and hugged him. Chiro smiled again, he had secretly wanted a hug, and knelt down to hug Antauri back. 

“Thanks, Antauri.” 

They began walking back to the robot. The sun had set, but twilight still peeked through the buildings. In one strip of light, Chiro saw a shadow moving. 

“Hold up,” he murmured out of the corner of his mouth, putting an arm out to stop Antauri. 

“What is it?” Antauri asked. 

“Not sure, hang back a second.” 

Antauri took a few steps back and stayed in the shadows. Chiro moved closer to the figure moving in the darkness. He squinted his eyes, trying to force them to adjust to the dimness quicker; one hand hovered over his communicator, ready to switch to Hyper Mode. 

The figure seemed to be checking out the building it was standing in front of. It looked around the door, Chiro could hear a jingle of keys, the door opened slowly with a creak. The figure reached in and turned on a light. It was dim and only illuminated the figure slightly. 

“Well, at least it still works,” the figure murmured with a sigh. “It’ll be nice to be here in the old neighborhood again.” 

Chiro searched his memory. The figure had sounded familiar, but Chiro couldn’t remember from where. He was thankful for the light, it had revealed that the figure wasn’t a Formless, and it didn’t seem to be an officer of any sort. It was just an older man, somewhat short and round, he seemed to have a kind voice. 

But what the heck was he doing here? 

Chiro jumped when Antauri poked him in the back. Antauri jerked a finger over his shoulder, indicating that they had to get back to the robot. Chiro nodded and the two of them made a discreet exit. 

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

“What was he doing there?” Sprx asked. 

Everyone was sitting in the control room, Chiro and Antauri told the others what they had seen. Most of them were sitting in their chairs, Otto was the only one hanging upside down from the ceiling. 

“I have no idea,” Chiro said. “He sounded familiar, though.” 

“Do you think it was anyone from the attack that you helped?” Nova asked. 

“Mostly everyone was too dazed or unconscious to talk, I think,” Chiro crossed his arms to think about it. “It’s just kind of weird. He said something about being in the old neighborhood again.” 

“You don’t suppose this would cause any trouble, do you?” Otto asked, swinging slightly. “I mean, he is only one old guy.” 

“I believe we should keep an eye out for any other suspicious activities,” Gibson said. “I doubt that anyone would really move back here after all this time.” 

Chiro yawned. “Yeah, this part of Shuggazoom is falling apart. Someone would be crazy to live out here.” 

“Like us?” Nova said with a smirk. 

Chiro grinned. “You said it, not me. I’m going to turn in everyone, good night.” 

“Good night,” the monkeys said. 

“Otto, do you believe that is a safe thing to do?” Gibson asked, watching Otto swinging more precariously. 

“Sure, why no-“ 

Otto was cut off when the pipe his tail was wrapped around broke. He fell on his head, then rolled onto his back. 

“I rest my case,” Gibson sighed. 

“Hey, you alive Otto?” Sprx asked. 

“Okay, not the brightest of my ideas.” Otto mumbled.


	14. Threat or Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Gakslapper starts taking on a more major role and the team faces their second battle.

After Chiro went to bed, Antauri also retired to his room, Nova left to get some practice in before she went to bed, and Sprx also left to plan for breakfast in the morning, since it was his turn to cook. 

“What’re you gonna do, Gibson?” Otto asked. He was now lying on his belly with his arms folded under his chin so he could look up at his friend. 

“I am unsure,” Gibson murmured. “I’m disturbed by this stranger in the vicinity. Also, since when does Chiro retreat to bed so prematurely in the evening?” 

Otto blinked. “Huh? You mean you don’t know why Chiro went to bed so early?” 

“That is precisely what I had said!” 

“Nah, you were saying something about maturity retreating.” 

Otto grinned while Gibson let out a small, frustrated groan. The blue monkey took a deep breath, then stood and went to the controls. Otto hopped up and followed. 

“Whatcha doin?” Otto asked. 

“I’m monitoring the area for the human anomaly,” Gibson said as his fingers flew across the control panel. Nothing was showing up. 

“Maybe he immaturely retreated to bed, too,” Otto said, nudging Gibson’s side. 

“Otto,” Gibson grumbled. 

Otto couldn’t help giggling. “I don’t know why, but you’re funny when you’re angry.” 

“Oh, be quiet.” 

For the next twenty minutes, Gibson continued to monitor the area surrounding the robot. Otto watched quietly, only rocking on his heels every so often. Suddenly, something started causing the computer to beep. 

“What is it?” Otto asked. 

“It seems either Chiro is sleep-walking or sneaking out,” Gibson said. “That’s his power signature setting off the sensors.” 

“Why would he do that?” Otto asked. 

“Perhaps his concern of being discovered is causing his state of apparent insomnia,” Gibson turned away from the computer. “I feel we should follow him.” 

“Don’t you think he’d be mad? What if he doesn’t trust us anymore?” 

“He’ll have to understand. Come on, before we lose him.” 

****

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Gibson and Otto slipped out of the robot as quietly as they could. They could see Chiro’s shrinking figure in the distance. He had transformed into Hyper Mode, lucky for the monkeys, it made him easy to pick out in the dark along with the help of the reflecting light of Ranger Seven. 

Gibson and Otto stayed on foot, for it was likely that Chiro would be able to pick up the hum of their jetpacks. 

“Where do you suppose he’s going?” Otto whispered as they followed Chiro down another street. 

“I believe he is attempting to discover the identity of the stranger,” Gibson whispered. “Now, silence.” 

They watched Chiro stop in front of a building. He looked around it for about ten minutes, shrugged, and started back the way he came. Otto pulled Gibson into a dark alley so Chiro wouldn’t see them. After he passed, they slowly came out and watched his retreating back. The two shared a glance and then went over to where Chiro had been inspecting the building. 

“Doesn’t look like much,” Otto murmured, taking a peek in the windows. 

Gibson stared hard inside the doorway, trying to make out something inside, but was unsuccessful. “Well, apparently the stranger is nowhere to be seen.” 

“Huh, what are you two doing out here so late?” 

Both monkeys screeched as a hand was laid on each of their shoulders. They quickly ducked out of the loose, casual grip, spinning around with weapons ready. 

“Hey, now, little guys, sorry I scared you,” the elder man put his hands up in a placating gesture. 

“I seem to remember him from the first Formless attack,” Gibson murmured. 

“Yeah, he does look a little familiar,” Otto agreed. 

The man looked confused, since all he heard the monkeys exchange were chatters. But he smiled and went towards the door. 

“See, this was my place a while ago, but the flood made me evacuate,” he said, unlocking the door and turning on the light. “If you two want, you can come inside.” 

The monkeys just stared. 

“Huh, I wonder if you two can even understand me.” 

Otto and Gibson exchanged another look before going inside. 

“Ah, maybe you can understand me. I’m Mr. Gakslapper, I invented the Hoverburger,” the man introduced himself. “Your boy, Chiro, he really saved my life that day along with some of my fellow shop-owners. We were all forced to relocate when the flood hit. Business was good, so we never thought of coming back.” 

Inside, they monkeys could see it had been a small café. Everything was covered in dust, a darkened menu hung above the food counter. Mr. Gakslapper sat on a stool and invited the monkeys to do the same. 

“Well, I suppose I better explain why I’m here. I kinda followed where that big robot thing of yours flew off to and ended up here. I never would have guessed you guys were all holed up in this end of town. Then again, I always thought that big thing in the park was a statue. Chiro really saved my life that day, and to thank him, I thought maybe by moving into the neighborhood I could keep an eye out for anyone looking for him or you monkeys. It’s the only way I can think to repay all of you.” 

Otto and Gibson had been listening very carefully. They weren’t sure what to say or do considering that Mr. Gakslapper couldn’t understand them. 

“What are we gonna do?” Otto asked. 

“For now, we leave this alone and consult Antauri. I think we should keep from saying anything to Chiro, I don’t want him to discover that we had been following him.” Gibson said. “Now, let’s get out of here.” 

Both monkeys hopped off the stools without a sound. Gibson smiled up at the man and pat him on the knee before turning and leaving. Otto gave him a silly, lop-sided grin and a thumbs-up. Mr. Gakslapper smiled back and waved goodbye. 

****

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Otto and Gibson returned to the robot as quietly as they could. After confirming that Chiro was back and in bed, they immediately went to Antauri’s room. They went inside and explained what they had found. Antauri stayed in quiet thoughtfulness when the explanation was done. 

“So, what now?” Otto asked, repeating the question he had asked Gibson not twenty minutes before. 

“I am uncertain. I do not wish anything to befall this man as a result of us or Chiro’s presence here; however, I suppose it is something that we’ll have to leave alone for now. Please do not mention anything to Chiro as of yet, let us see how all this plays out.” 

Gibson and Otto nodded in agreement. 

“Have you told him about the whole Chosen One thing, yet?” Otto asked after a few moments of silence. 

Antauri glared at him slightly. Gibson sighed and tapped the side of Otto’s head. 

“Bedtime, Otto,” Gibson said, dragging Otto out of the room. “Antauri, I appreciate you taking the time to speak with us so late.” 

“You’re welcome, Gibson. Goodnight to the both of you.” 

Out in the hallway, Gibson finally let Otto go. “Honestly, Otto.” 

“What?” Otto said, rubbing the side of his head. “I was just curious.” 

“Curiosity killed the chimp, you know.” 

“Good thing we’re monkeys then!” 

Gibson sighed, going into his room “Goodnight, Otto.” 

Since Gibson had forgotten to close his door, Otto followed him inside. Gibson went to his desk and picked up a cylindrical object that glowed with a soft light. When Gibson turned around, he screeched, startled. 

“Otto!” Gibson exclaimed, trying to hide the object behind his back. 

“Oooh, what is that?” Otto asked. 

“What?” 

“That thing - it’s pretty and shiny!” 

Gibson grumbled, accepting the fact that he couldn’t hide it from Otto anymore. 

“Okay, okay, it’s like a security blanket,” Gibson muttered. “Its light is soothing to me, it helps me sleep.” 

Otto smiled. “Hey, that’s cool.” 

Gibson narrowed his eyes at him. “Tell anyone and I will cause extreme trauma to your lower posterior abdominal structure.” 

“No problem, your secret is safe with me!” Otto grinned and started to walk out, but then stopped at the door to give Gibson an odd look. “You did just say that if I tell anyone, you’ll kick my butt, right?” 

“In a matter of speaking.” 

“Oh, gotcha, okay, no problem.” 

****

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

The next morning, everything proceeded normally. Everyone woke up, ate breakfast, discussed their plans for the day, then the alarms sounded. 

“Well, I guess we know what we’re doing for morning training,” Nova muttered. 

They all rushed to the control room. Gibson and Otto were the first to the controls and started scanning for the disturbance. 

“Looks like we have another Formless infestation,” Antauri said, looking over his companion’s shoulders. 

“Time to play exterminator,” Sprx said with a grin. “What’s the call, kid?” 

“Let’s do it, team. Monkeys, Mobilize!” 

They took their respective ways to their posts, once they were strapped in, Chiro asked for a status report. 

“The Formless have targeted another part of the city, it seems to be a more rural area filled with living quarters,” Gibson said, bringing up the statistics. 

“All right, let’s get moving towards it, Gibson, you keep scanning it for more statistics,” Chiro ordered. 

“Roger.” 

When they got there, they could see Formless oozing their black slime over anything in reach. This time, their effects seemed to be less devastating. That is, if you really didn’t mind getting goopy black sludge on your shoes. 

“Gross, where’s the clean-up crew when you need them?” Nova asked. 

“What do you think we’re for, sweatheart?” Sprx asked. 

Nova ground her teeth. “Call me that again and you’ll need a cleanup crew.” 

“Come on you two, knock it off,” Chiro said with a sigh. “What are we going to do about this?” 

“Personally, I’d like to get their attention. Firing missile one!” Sprx said. 

“Wait, Sprx!” Antauri called out too late. 

The missile hit the center of a black puddle where a group of Formless were standing. The missile caused an electrical wave to shock the puddle and anything it touched. The Formless sank to their knees, but that was all. 

“Huh, wonder why that didn’t do anything,” Otto asked. 

“I’m having quite a horrid precognitive thought,” Gibson said. 

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Chiro murmured, watching the Formless very carefully. 

“That’s precisely what I said!” Gibson exclaimed. 

A high-pitched screech sounded from the Formless. The monkeys and Chiro grabbed their ears in an effort to shut out the horrible sound. 

“What are they doing?” Nova demanded when the screeching subsided. 

“Stay alert, team,” Antauri said. “It seems they are merging together.” 

Gibson watched the screens carefully. Antauri was right; the Formless were gathering, as if something in the puddle that was zapped had a magnetic pull. This theory was entirely possible, but Gibson figured it was best not to point a finger at Sprx. 

“Talk to me, Gibson, what’s going on down there?” Chiro asked. 

“It seems to Formless are pulling themselves together to make a super-Formless with a substantial amount of power. This could be very bad news, Chiro.” 

“Tell me about it,” Chiro said, watching the creature before them grow. 

“Uhm, guys, what are we waiting for? I think we ought to blast it before it finishes, don’t you?” Nova asked, her voice shaking slightly. 

“Bad idea, Nova, I can’t get a clear reading and a random attack could cause more trouble,” Otto said. 

“Otto’s correct,” Gibson confirmed. 

There was another loud screech as the new monster finished its form. It seemed to take on the appearance of the robot, but rounder and with long claws and large, red eyes that glowed with evil. 

“That does not look very friendly,” Sprx said. “And our plan is?” 

“Let’s take it down. Hyper Force, go!” Chiro ordered. 

The battle was on. 

The Formless Monster charged, the Super Robot met it head on and fists were locked, each tried to overpower the other. 

“We’re losing our grip!” Otto reported. 

“So will he,” Nova said. She made the Foot Crusher kick the monster in the shin. 

The monster screeched again, causing the Super Robot to back off as its pilots gripped their ears again. 

“I swear I’m going to rip that thing’s voice box out so it can’t do that. Firing Fist Rockets!” Sprx cried, slamming a fist onto a button. 

Three rockets blasted from one of the robots hands and found their mark in the middle of the monster’s abdomen. It only made the screeching worse, but it was a good hit for now as the creature was doubled over in pain. 

“My head’s going to explode!” Chiro said, now grinding the heels of his palms into his ears. “Antauri, do something!” 

Before Antauri or any of the others could comply or respond, the monster suddenly stood up straight again and revealed the hole in its abdomen. This didn’t seem to faze it much. It raised its arms in the air and arched its back as lumps began to grow from its shoulders. 

“What the heck is it doing?” Sprx demanded. 

“It appears to be growing wings,” Antauri said. 

The monster proved Antauri to be right as a pair of bony wings covered in black ooze popped out of the monster and it wasted no time taking to the sky. 

“Everyone to the command center, now!” Antauri ordered. 

Everyone complied and met in the control room. 

“What do we do now?” Chiro asked. “Where did it go?” 

“It seems to be taking a course into outer space. We must stop it before it gets too far away,” Antauri said. 

“Hey, it’s on the run, why worry about it at all?” Chiro asked. 

“We are unaware of that thing’s true capabilities, Chiro,” Gibson reminded him. “Not only can it possibly launch a massive attack on Shuggazoom, but also go back to its place of origin, where its master can bestow more power.” 

“Maybe we should let it, then. If it goes to Skeleton King, then we can find him and destroy him. Sounds like a done deal to me,” Chiro said. 

“Either way, we’re heading into space. Everyone prepare for lift-off,” Antauri said. 

Everyone found their seats and strapped themselves in. Otto noticed that Chiro’s hands were shaking a little as he buckled his belt. 

“You okay?” Otto asked. 

“Uhm, yeah, sure, no problem,” Chiro said. “Uh, we never covered space travel, did we?” 

“Huh, no, we didn’t. It’s no big deal, just like flying a plane. Well, a really, really big plane that takes off at thousands of miles an hour in a matter of seconds. It’s so cool!” 

“Otto? I have a confession to make,” Chiro said as the robot began shaking in its preparation for take-off. 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah, I’ve never traveled to space before.” 

“Uh oh.” 

“Lift off in twenty seconds,” Gibson reported. 

“Wait! Chiro’s never flown before!” Otto cried out. 

“Too late. I’m sorry Chiro but you’ll have to adapt,” Antauri said grimly. 

“Counting down….. Ten….. Nine,” Gibson began. 

“What’s going to happen?” Chiro asked, feeling his breath becoming short. 

“Eight….. Seven.....” 

“We’ll speed into space, you’ll be thrown back in your seat,” Otto explained. 

“Six….. Five.....” 

“And since you’re not used to it yet, you’ll more than likely pass out,” Sprx added. 

“Four….. Three.....” 

“Wonderful.” 

“Two….. One….. Taking off!” 

The robot’s shaking became more violent. The thrusters fired and the robot started lifting of into the sky. Nearby civilians watched the robot taking off, covering their eyes from the glaring. One elder gentleman in particular was smiling. 

“And there you go, young Chiro, off again to save us all,” Mr. Gakslapper murmured to no one. “And to think the police want to take you away from us. Don’t worry, we won’t let that happen. Not after all you’ve done for us so far.” 

Back in the robot, Chiro’s fingers were white from gripping the seat. He felt himself being pressed backwards; pressure was building inside his head and over his body as the force of gravity showed its power. His eyes were squeezed shut and it was all he could do to keep from screaming in a mix of terror and the growing pain in his head. 

Antauri felt Chiro’s discomfort and pain and immediately felt sorry for the boy. He also chastised himself for not covering this topic early in his training. The black monkey shut his eyes and sought out Chiro’s mind with his own. 

_“Stay relaxed, Chiro, allow things to happen as they may and it may be less painful for you. If you lose consciousness, know we will be here when you’re ready to awaken.”_

Chiro felt a moment of panic when he heard Antauri’s voice in his head. The words gave him a sense of comfort, but he couldn’t allow himself to give in so easily. 

“I’m not giving in,” Chiro muttered, but the words still reached Antauri. 

Antauri sighed. _“Choosing your battles is just as important as your will to continue. Letting go of the correct battles saves you energy and work out better in the end.”_

Chiro relaxed a little, but something inside of him wanted to fight on. After a few moments, Chiro lost the battle he held with himself. His eyes rolled back and then slowly closed as the concussion finally took hold.


	15. Fallen Warriors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Formless Monster too much for the team?

Otto looked over when he noticed Chiro’s face relaxed and his head fell to the side. 

“Did the kid finally pass out?” Sprx asked. 

“Yeah, he’ll be okay,” Otto said. 

“Better than dealing with the headache,” Nova said. “Hey, Sprx, how come you guys didn’t cover this in avionics?” 

“Hey, cut a monkey some slack, I didn’t think space travel would be in the agenda so soon,” Sprx said. 

“We’ve almost broken out of the atmosphere,” Gibson said. 

A few moments later, the robot stopped shaking when it was finally free of Shuggazoom’s gravity. 

“Finally,” Gibson muttered, adjusting the controls to compensate for their zero-gravity environment. “I still have the monster in sight.” 

‘How far away is it?” Antauri asked. 

“Approximately three point seven kilometers and it is still proceeding.” 

“Stay on it, who knows what kind of trouble it can cause.” 

A soft groan came from Chiro’s chair. He sat up straighter and shook his head. 

“You okay, Chiro?” Otto asked, giving his friend a concerned glance. 

“I think so, what’s going on?” Chiro asked, shaking his head in an effort to clear the fog in his brain. 

“You passed out, we’re still in pursuit of the Formless Monster, and no, we don’t have a plan,” Sprx explained. 

Chiro nodded and leaned his head back. 

“You sure you’re all right?” Nova asked. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Chiro made a dismissive wave with his hand. 

“Wait a moment, the monster has turned around,” Gibson said, fingers flying across the controls. “It’s coming right for us at top speed! Impact in fifteen seconds!” 

“Brace yourselves!” Antauri yelled. 

Everyone gripped the edges of their seats just before the monster slammed into them. Everything spun for a moment until finally the robot was made to right itself. The monster began to punch the robot, leaving gooey black marks. 

“Aw, gross, that’ll take forever to clean up,” Nova said. 

“Let’s stop it, then!” Otto exclaimed. 

“I’m trying. Firing electro-torpedo!” Gibson said, his finger jamming on a button. 

Two torpedoes shot out and they found their mark in the monster’s chest. The electric surge ripped through the monster but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect. 

“Uhm, I’m starting to think electricity doesn’t work on that thing,” Otto said. 

“Thank you for that brilliant observation, Otto,” Gibson grumbled. 

“Wait, quiet,” Chiro said. They all were silenced as he strained his ears. “Do you hear anything?” 

The monkeys shook their heads and muttered under their breaths. Chiro took off his seat belt and slowly stood, still listening. 

“What is it?” Antauri asked, his voice barely above a whisper. 

“I’m getting a really bad feeling,” Nova said with a shudder. 

“Gibson, where’s the monster?” Chiro asked, his eyes darting to the view screen. 

Gibson quickly put a visual on. The monster was gone. 

“I don’t pick up any readings,” Gibson started, his voice also quiet. “But, that would mean it disappeared into the ether and that-“ 

The robot shook violently, tossing Chiro off his feet. A grinding sound could be heard. 

“What is that?” Sprx asked. 

“Unconfirmed, I can’t seem to get a lock on it!” Gibson said in a panic. 

Antauri closed his eyes and tried to seek out the dark monster with his mind. He knew it was out there, he could feel it, however his mind wasn’t getting any better of a lock on the creature than the computer was. But there was one thing he was getting that the computers weren’t picking up. 

“Raise the defenses, now!” Antauri suddenly cried, leaping up from his seat. 

“What’s going on Antauri?” Nova asked. 

All of the monkeys were now getting to their feet. 

“That grinding noise, the monster is trying to get inside. It will find any crevice that the robot might have,” Antauri typed as fast as he could, trying to raise the robot’s defense system. 

“Wait, if there are any cracks in the robot, wouldn’t we be running out of air?” Chiro asked. 

“No, we have a shield over the robot when we’re in space just in case something comes apart,” Nova explained. “But everything on the robot was fixed, so there can’t be anything that thing can slime it way into.” 

As if on cue, the robot shook violently again, knocking nearly everyone to the floor. 

“Uhm, I think that thing created its own crevice,” Otto said darkly. “Look.” 

He put up a visual of the outside. One of the robot’s shoulders was crushed up, the metal split at the seams. 

“We are in big, big trouble, aren’t we?” Sprx asked. 

“Yeah, I’d count that as trouble,” Nova replied. 

There was another lurch and the alarms sounded. 

“What’s happening?” Chiro asked, grabbing onto Nova for balance. 

“It’s a hull breach!” Gibson was desperately trying to help Antauri, but nothing they did seemed to deter the monster’s intentions. 

“Hello, Monkey Team,” a familiar, dark voice said over the communicator. 

Everyone froze and slowly their eyes went up to the view screen. A dark, evil figure was looming on it; sharp, red eyes looked at them as if they were a meal it was considering to devour. 

“Skeleton King,” Antauri grumbled. 

Chiro’s grip on Nova tightened. She put a hand over his and gave a reassuring squeeze. 

“We won’t let him hurt you, Chiro,” she murmured only loud enough for Chiro to hear. 

Chiro slowly nodded. He notice Sprx and Otto also took small steps so they were standing in front of him, ready to go into defensive mode. 

“What do you want, bone bag?” Sprx growled, tightening his fists. 

“I am offering you a chance to surrender yourselves and the boy,” Skeleton King said, his voice cold and smooth as silk. “Surrender and I promise your destruction will be swift and painless.” 

“Forget it!” Chiro said, taking a step forward. “There is no way you’re getting any one of us!” 

Skeleton King chuckled. “I beg to differ.” 

Nova suddenly let out a scream. The other spun around to see her getting swallowed up by black ooze that was coming from the vents. 

“Nova!” Sprx cried, starting towards her. 

“No, don’t!” Otto exclaimed, grabbing Sprx by the wrist and holding him back. 

“Let me go, Otto!” Sprx demanded as his magnets were activated. 

“Sprx, you could damage her!” Gibson said. 

“Guys, help!” Nova cried before she was completely enveloped. 

Sprx finally broke free of Otto’s grip and ran towards where Nova had been. “I’m coming to get you, Nova!” 

He reached into the ooze hoping to grab her hand, but instead the ooze took hold of him and soon Sprx was gone as well. 

“Now what do we do?” Otto asked as he and Chiro back up to where Gibson and Antauri were standing. 

Skeleton King laughed. “Your destruction is imminent!” 

The three monkeys and Chiro gave him a glare over their shoulders. Gibson activated a drill and blasted to control panel to shut off the viewing screen. 

“Well, now that that’s taken care of, what is our plan?” Gibson asked. 

“Better decide something quick,” Otto said, backing up even more as the ooze came closer. 

“I’m going in after them!” Chiro said. With a battle cry, he leaped into the ooze and was soon lost as well. 

“Chiro!” Otto cried. 

“Why in the world did he do something so incredibly stupid?” Gibson asked. 

Antauri sighed. “We have to remember he’s still a boy,” he activated his claws. “However, he may have been on to something. Raaah!” 

Antauri ran forward and started clawing at the ooze. Following his lead, Gibson started drilling into it while Otto tried slicing. 

“Be cautious! We might hit one of the others,” Gibson warned them. 

“I think the only way we’re going to free them is by finding the source of this monster’s power,” Antauri said. He looked up then gasped. “Look out!” 

The ooze suddenly reared up liked an ocean wave above Otto. The green monkey let out a cry as the wave descended on him, then he was gone. 

“Oh no,” Gibson murmured. 

Antauri and Gibson stood back to back, brandishing their weapons. 

“What are we going to do now?” Gibson asked. 

“I’m not sure,” Antauri said. “It looks like we’ve lost this one.” 

They were silent for a moment. The ooze was flowing over their feet now, getting enveloped by it seemed inevitable no matter what they did. 

“What was the point, Antauri?” Gibson asked softly. 

“Of what?” Antauri asked. 

“Us being here, all of the training we gave to Chiro, the training we endured ourselves, life itself, what’s the point of it all?” 

“The point is to have a strong will, spirit, body, and mind. Though we are unsure of what is going to happen to us, we must keep faith that we will survive.” 

Gibson sighed. “Then I must apologize, Antauri. I’m afraid I have no faith left.” 

Antauri gasped as Gibson let himself fall and disappear. 

“Gibson!” 

But he was gone. The ooze was started to rise to his knees. 

Antauri sighed, feeling a moment of despair for himself. He had no idea what was going to happen to them, he didn’t really want to think about it, but if this was going to be the end of all their lives, it saddened him that Gibson felt he had lost faith. 

Steeling himself again, Antauri knew he had to be strong. He still sensed the others, although their energy was growing weaker by the moment. However slim the chances were, there was still hope. 

That sliver of hope was all Antauri needed. 

With a small smile and taking a deep breath, he jumped into the ooze as well. 

**x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o**

In the abandoned end of Shuggazoom, Mr. Gakslapper had gathered a crowd outside his shop. 

“So, we’re all in agreement to come back to the old neighborhood?” Mr. Gakslapper asked. 

“Well, sure, but how do we know this is where the boy and his monkeys live?” asked someone in the crowd. 

“I don’t know if any of you remember the huge robot statue in Northern Park, but it’s the same one that they used to save us. I saw it.” 

“But where is it? I know what statue you’re talking about, and usually I can see the top of it from here,” a woman said, looking around. 

“They must have flown off chasing after that monster that attacked earlier,” a man offered. 

The crowd started murmuring and Mr. Gakslapper had to get control again quickly. 

“What I propose is this!” he said loudly. The crowd was silent. “What I propose is this; I think we ought to get moving on putting this neighborhood back together again. It will be a lot of work and perhaps it won’t be finished until long after their return, but I think it’ll be worth it. Saving our lives is worth providing a wholesome living environment for them. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and this is our opportunity to be this boys’ village.” 

There were murmurs of agreement and a few claps throughout the crowd. Then everyone jumped at a terrified scream at the back. Everyone turned to see another army of Formless. The crowd backed up. 

“What now?” a man asked Mr. Gakslapper. 

Mr. Gakslapper narrowed his eyes, ducking into his shop momentarily he emerged with a broomstick in hand. 

“We fend them off until they get here. This is our neighborhood now and I’ll be damned if something other than the force of nature will run me out again,” he replied. 

“You and your inspirational speeches,” another man quipped as everyone started looking for weapons. 

Mr. Gakslapper looked up at the sky. 

_‘Hurry back,’_ he thought. 

**x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o**

Skeleton King chuckled at the image of the Super Robot being swallowed by the Formless Monster. 

“Ah, my dear Hyper Force, you should have known your defeat was inevitable,” he said. 

“Now, the real fun begins.” 

“What is going to happen to them, my king?” an accented voice asked. 

“I’m going to break down their barriers, expose every fear, want, need, annihilate any traces of hope and faith, and slowly destroy their minds so they will have no choice but to become my slaves, as it was always meant to be.” 

“With all due respect, Skeleton King, I believe it would be better to destroy them outright.” 

“You dare question my motives, Sakko?” 

The tiny monkey shuddered. “I apologize, my king.” 

“Yes, however if you ever question me again I will crush you into powder, you slimy little simian upstart!” Sakko cowered further. “Don’t you have an android of your own to play with?” 

“Yes, my king.” 

Sakko scurried off with a frightened chatter. 

The Skeleton King’s eyes went back to his view screen. A slow smile formed across his face, feeling assured in his victory.


	16. Antauri’s Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Antauri has a run-in with someone from the past, but will it be what he thinks it’ll be?

Antauri decided he didn’t like ooze. It was thick, sticky, and despite the fact that it was pure evil on top of it, it was just plain disgusting. 

He had closed his eyes and tried to focus on finding his team, however, as time went on, their energies grew fainter. He shut out just about everything else in effort to save energy. He lost track of time, and he figured he must have fallen asleep or lost consciousness at one point because he found himself opening his eyes and lying on his back. 

Antauri sat up slowly and looked around. He was sitting on a green, grassy hill in what looked like a meadow. The temperature was warm with a soft breeze tickling the grass and his nose. 

“What is this place?” Antauri said aloud. 

“A place where we can talk.” 

Antauri leaped to his feet and sunk into a defensive stance. 

“Mandarin.” 

“I’m not here to fight, Antauri,” the orange monkey said, sitting down next to where Antauri had been sitting. He looked up at him. “Honestly, I just want to talk.” 

Antauri looked at him warily. Mandarin looked just as he did in the old days. He was an orange version of himself with black eyes and orange pupils. 

Antauri did sometimes wonder why he was the only one with yellow eyes. He remembered Sprx telling him that sometimes his eyes were creepy enough, if they were black then they would blend too well with the rest of him and increase the ‘creepiness’ factor. 

Mandarin did look as if he did want to hold a civilized conversation; his hands were folded calmly in his lap, patiently awaiting Antauri’s response. 

“Forgive my bluntness, but am I dead?” Antauri asked as he slowly lowered his claws. 

“Illogical. I am not here to discuss that even if you were, first of all, and that would mean I would also be dead, too, and I am not,” Mandarin said. His tone was even and calm, just like it had been when he and Antauri would hold their philosophical discussions. 

“Then what is all of this?” 

“Sit and we will talk.” 

Antauri hesitated, but then he slowly sank next to his previous leader. 

“How is the team, Antauri?” 

“Everyone is fine.” 

“Then why are you so worried?” 

“I never said-“ 

“Antauri, please, do not insult me,” Mandarin tapped the side of his head. “I feel as you feel and it seems there has been little growth on your end since I left.” 

“More like defeated,” Antauri muttered. “What do you mean by that?” 

Mandarin looked up at the sky. “Where are they?” 

“What’s your point?” 

“You have no idea where they are, do you?” Antauri stayed silent. “It seems Gibson has lost faith, Sprx, Otto, and Nova are gone, and what of the boy you have taken under your wing?” 

“Leave him out of this.” 

“Oh, but I can’t, not if your mind dwells on him so,” Mandarin sighed. “I do wish you could see who you really are, Antauri. I could destroy the others, but you, I would keep.” 

“Like you destroyed us the last time?” 

“One on one, you know I could give them fates worse than death. Even you would have a great deal of trouble defeating me.” 

Antauri stood. “So you are here to fight me.” 

“No, I do not intend to,” Mandarin stood to face him. “I am here to enlighten you.” 

Mandarin put a hand on Antauri’s shoulder. He let it stay. 

“Enlighten me? To what end?” 

“To an end you were always intended for. To be free to do what you want, when you want, to have all that you wish for.” 

“There is always a price for everything. What is yours?” 

Mandarin smiled. “The price you speak of is not my own. The price would be to throw off the chains that are tying you to such a mediocre standpoint; to stop being nursemaid to those who are far inferior to you.” 

“I’ve heard a rant like this before.” 

“What?” 

Antauri shoved Mandarin’s hand off. “This is what was going through your mind when you decided that Shuggazoom wasn’t worth your protection.” 

“With my rule, the humans would have received all the protection they would ever need until the end of their days.” 

“Yet you intended to rule them with an iron fist, you wanted them to cater to you when it was our job to cater to them by protecting them from Skeleton King.” 

Mandarin’s face changed. “Humans can’t be trusted, Antauri, Even your little boy is as prone to corruption as the rest of them.” 

“As were you.” 

“Monkey Mind Scream!” 

The blast of energy pushed Antauri back. He lost his footing and started rolling down the hill. A bump somewhere had knocked the wind out of him and he was thankful when he stopped. But before he could get his breathing back under control, Mandarin tackled him and pinned him to the ground. 

“You can’t defeat me, Antauri. I can read your thoughts and your memories. I know everything now and there will never be anything you can do to stop me.” 

Antauri couldn’t summon the energy to throw Mandarin off, so he settled for glaring at him while he involuntarily gasped for breath. 

Mandarin’s face changed again. “Don’t believe everything you hear, my brother.” 

Antauri stared at him. His voice had changed as well, back to what it sounded like earlier in their conversation. What did this mean? What was going on? 

“Get off of me, Mandarin,” Antauri said flatly. 

Mandarin seemed to make a move to leave, but then he settled his weight more heavily on him. 

“No, not until you surrender.” 

“You know I never will.” 

“Yes, so that means that you will be dealing with a lot more painful memories.” 

“Memories? Wait, you never had mind-reading abilities,” Antauri could feel some of his strength returning. “And there’s no way you could know about the boy, or Gibson, or the others. You’re just a memory!” 

Mandarin let out a howl of rage, rearing back to strike Antauri. 

“Monkey Mind Scream!” 

Now it was Mandarin’s turn to be thrown backwards. Antauri quickly got to his feet and rushed to him. Before the orange monkey could move, Antauri put a foot on his chest. 

“You must be Skeleton King’s influence, this evil side of you. Granted I do remember it, but perhaps next time you ought to watch your words,” Antauri said. 

Mandarin chuckled, his voice turning to Skeleton King’s. “I will defeat you, my monkey.” 

Antauri put a clawed hand over Mandarin’s face and concentrated all of his energy into a final blast. Mandarin screamed in agony, Antauri watched a black shadow emerge from his body, float up in the air like a dark cloud of evil, then vanish. Under his foot and claw, Mandarin was still. 

Antauri stepped back, breathing hard. His chest still hurt from before, but now that he figured out Skeleton King’s trick, he did feel better about his current situation. 

“Mandarin, I can’t tell you how sorry I am that things turned out the way that they did,” Antauri said, looking down at the still body. 

Mandarin groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He turned his head slightly so he could see Antauri. 

“I wish you could forgive me,” he said as he slowly sat up. 

“You’re alive.” 

“Of course, Antauri, I am but merely a memory of the monkey you knew as the ‘good’ Mandarin, so I cannot die. I couldn’t control myself before, but I am glad that I could come through for a moment and aid in your figuring out this trick.” 

“Mandarin, I,” Antauri felt a loss for words. 

Mandarin gave him a sad look and put a hand on Antauri’s shoulder. 

“I understand. I’m sorry I had become weak-minded and succumbed to such evil. Some of us don’t have strong hearts and I think Skeleton King knows now that you realize that possibility about Chiro.” 

“How do you know about Chiro?” 

“I’m a memory, I know just about everything you do.” 

“Right.” 

“Follow your heart and your instincts, and you can never go wrong.” 

Antauri gave him a small, sad smile. “Did you always make this much sense?” 

“Sometimes, I suppose. This is how you remember me, apparently, so I am who you’ve made me to be.” 

“What am I to do now? Would the others be in the same predicament as me? If so, I don’t know if they have the mental capabilities yet to handle this sort of attack, especially Gibson. If is indeed true that Gibson has lost hope and faith, it means for him that the battle is lost,” Antauri shook his head. “I do not understand, Gibson has always been the one who could find hope and now he’s the one I fear for the most.” 

Antauri ground his knuckles into his head with a grumble of frustration. 

“Antauri, keep calm and think. You honestly do have much more power than you sometimes give yourself credit for, you always have.” 

“You had told me that once, but I’m not sure if it’s a fact.” 

“Facts are what you make them to be. Belief, faith, and trust must be the most difficult thing for anyone to learn, however, with those three firmly in place, anything is possible.” 

Antauri nodded. “Then I believe the time for talk is over. I think I know what to do. I must focus my spirit and look for the others that way and pray that I can save them before it’s too late.” 

Mandarin smiled a true, genuine smile. It had been a long time since Antauri had seen it and it made him smile, too. 

“Then your path is set, my brother. I worry for your safety, please make sure you save enough energy to wake yourself up.” 

“There’s no use in a memory to worry.” 

Mandarin pulled Antauri in for a hug. Antauri was a little surprised and he was about to hug him back when Mandarin let him go. 

“Go for it, Antauri.” 

Antauri nodded and ran off. He didn’t want to be close to Mandarin anymore. It was already making him very uncomfortable to speak to his memory this way. He never remembered anything like this happening in training before. 

He made it up another hill and looked around. It was like when he woke up; nothing but the hill, the sky, and the breeze. He sat down, his legs crossing in a lotus position and closing his eyes. As quickly as he could, he set himself in his meditative state and started reaching out for the first familiar energy he could reach. 

****

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Skeleton King paced in front of his view screen. He had sent T.V. Monster to oversee the capture of the Hyper Force. Formless warriors had pulled them from the ooze of the Formless Monster and placed them all in prison tubes. 

“Do you have them all?” Skeleton King asked. 

A nearby Formless answered in the positive. 

“Good. Keep a close eye on them; I’ll be there to transport them myself,” Skeleton King said before the screen turned off. 

He went back to his throne and sat down. Something was wrong, he couldn’t tell what it was, but he just knew something wasn’t right. There was something in his plan that wasn’t working out. 

****

x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x o x 

Antauri opened his eyes and found himself in darkness, but I was a familiar darkness. A place between the consciousnesses, it was a plain where minds could meet. 

”At least I was able to find my way here, so it is a start,” Antauri said. 

He began to feel around. The mental plain was generally endless darkness unless you had a specific destination in mind. Antauri had five. 

Antauri’s only consolation was that no one ever told him that his job was going to be easy. 

It must have taken him nearly forty minutes, but he finally seemed to be getting somewhere. He felt a familiar gathering of energy and eagerly followed it. Very suddenly, as if a veil had been lifted, he found six doors blocking his way. 

“This must be the entrance to the minds of the others,” he murmured. “But why are there six? Perhaps one of them belongs to our enemy?” 

Antauri inspected each door carefully. They were all the same rectangular shape with a round, golden doorknob. There was no indication of individuality among them. He put his palm against one door, closed his eyes, and then focused on finding just one of them. He chose Gibson first. However, now his powers seemed to be blocked. As he focused on the one energy, he felt others drawing away. 

Focusing on just one at a time not only wasn’t going to work, but it was going to put him back where he started without any link to the others. 

The black monkey frowned, briefly wondering if his luck was going to get any worse.


	17. Sprx Learns a Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sprx needs a knock upside the head sometimes. Too bad Nova’s not there to give it to him. He has a few run-ins with his own demons. 
> 
> I feel bad, really I do, but sometimes a little torture is necessary. Enjoy!

Sprx opened his eyes with a gasp. 

“Nova!” he cried. 

But she wasn’t there. He swallowed hard and looked around. He felt a little embarrassed freaking out in front of the team like that and he hoped no one would remember after this little episode was over. 

Sprx couldn’t suppress a shudder. He was suddenly filled with a cold that he couldn’t explain. It made him think of Nova and her intolerance to frigid weather. This led him to think of Antauri and how he always reminded her to keep her temper. Then he thought of Otto, how he would make some ridiculous comment, and then Gibson would sigh and say something that usually took them a dictionary to understand. Then there was Chiro, who would smile or laugh at their antics. Still a child, yet an aura of a maturity that was too early put on him hung just over his shoulders, dropping at the times when it was needed, whether he wanted or not. 

No matter how tough an act he put on, Sprx knew deep in his heart, and he hoped the others knew too, that he really liked all of them and couldn’t bear to lose even one member of his family. 

But now, they weren’t here and he wasn’t sure if he would ever see them again. Maybe now he did lose all of them. 

Or did they just lose him? 

“So, this is what it feels like to be alone, I guess?” Sprx murmured to himself. 

“You should be alone, you don’t deserve her.” 

“Huh?” 

Sprx looked up and around. He hadn’t noticed his surroundings before. He was back in the Super Robot’s training room. In front of him with shield and energy sword ready was Mandarin. 

“You’re still too chicken to tell her, aren’t you?” Mandarin continued, as if they had been having a long discussion. 

Sprx looked at him blankly, unable to believe his eyes. 

Mandarin lunged forward. Sprx dodged his attack, quickly activating his magnets, and catching the sword between one of them, pointing the other magnet to Mandarin’s side. 

“Magna Tingler Blast!” Sprx said. 

The magnet glowed and the blast pushed Mandarin back. He quickly regained his balance with a back flip and he landed on his feet. 

“Not bad, Sparky, not bad,” Mandarin said. 

Sprx narrowed his eyes. “You are **not allowed** to call me that!” 

He rushed forward, magnets tingling with energy. Mandarin smirked, deactivating his weapons and bending his knees. Just before Sprx ran into him, Mandarin grabbed him by the waist, rolled back, pressed one foot into Sprx’s abdomen and launched him over his head. Sprx landed hard on is back, he let out a low groan of pain, feeling a moment of paralysis. 

Mandarin calmly walked over and put a foot on Sprx’s chest. 

“We’ve been over this a few times, if memory serves me correctly. I know you hate hearing me say it, but honestly, how can you be so passionate in one way but not so much in another?” Mandarin sighed, looking more disappointed than anything else. 

Sprx coughed. “What are you talking about?” 

“Oh, come on, your obsession with Nova has the maturity level of a child just past their toddling years,” Mandarin took his foot off and turned away, his hands folded behind his back. 

Sprx slowly pushed himself up on his knees, and now he was feeling a little confused. 

“Didn’t we have this conversation?” Sprx asked. 

“Ha, about a hundred times.” 

That line was familiar too. Sprx hated déjà vu. 

“Listen, your feelings for her have been held in for all too long as it is. It may start to eat away at you and in the end it will be you that ends up hurt.” 

Mandarin turned to face Sprx just as he got to his feet. Sprx couldn’t help but to jump slightly when their eyes met. It had been years and it still felt creepy. You got that feeling when the last time you saw someone they were trying to kill you and the ones you cared for. 

“I care about you, Sprx, the same way I care for the others. I don’t think it’s fair to keep this secret from Nova, either. If you want to try to hide it from the others, that will be your own business, but hiding it from her is just as cruel.” 

“What do you mean?” Sprx asked slowly, choosing his words very carefully, trying to remember exactly what it was that he had said. This did happen already, right? 

What was going on? Did he somehow get transported back in time? 

“Did you ever think that Nova could possibly be waiting for you to make the first move?” 

Sprx snapped back to attention. “Why? Did she say something to you?” 

“No, she hasn’t. Nor has she made any indication of having feelings for anyone, however, I know how things can be.” 

Sprx narrowed his eyes at Mandarin. “You don’t know anything.” 

Mandarin looked a bit amused. “Say what you will, Sparky, say what you will.” 

The orange monkey turned and walked away. 

“Why, you little-“ 

Sprx went to hit Mandarin while his back was turned. But as he swung his fist, Mandarin shimmered and disappeared, like a reflection in the water. Sprx’s entire surroundings wavered and swirled and he found himself falling though darkness. 

After a few moments of mind-numbing terror, the sensation of falling stopped and it felt like he was just floating. Everything around him was dark and there was no sound. 

Sprx wondered what was happening to him. He didn’t think he was dead. Crazy, maybe, but not dead. 

He thought a little harder. He could remember that day in the training room and others like it. Mandarin had found out about his crush on Nova and had offered sympathy and words of advice on many occasions. Towards the end of their time together, their conversations became less about helping Sprx and more about getting him angry and then passing off the fighting as training. More often than not, the fight ended with Sprx in the infirmary with Gibson chastising his temper. 

Sprx wasn’t sure which had made him angrier; the nickname or Gibson’s lectures. 

After a moment, he decided the nickname was worse. 

“It was Mandarin who made it up, didn’t he?” Sprx muttered to himself, unable to take the silence that pressed around him. “He meant it as a friendly thing, but man, did it get on my nerves. Then he would say it every once in a while in teasing, and now when anyone says it, it just reminds me of him,” he sighed, pulling his knees to his chest and hugging them. “I wonder what the others are up to.” 

“Well, no thanks to you, we’ll never know, will we?” 

Sprx’s head snapped up. “Nova?” 

She seemed to shimmer into view in front of him. He straightened himself up into a standing position again, even though there were still nothing to really stand on, but that wasn’t his concern. 

“Nova, you’re all right!” Sprx moved towards her. 

“You stay away from me,” Nova growled. 

Sprx stopped in his tracks. “What? Is it my breath?” 

“Still the stupidest monkey on the team,” Nova crossed her arms. “You left me.” 

“Hey, I went in after you!” 

“Oh, some rescue mission that was. You abandoned me, Sprx, and I thought you liked me.” 

Sprx’s face fell. Why was Nova acting like this? 

“I do like you, Nova, I’ve been looking for you-” 

“You’re too late, Sparky, just too late.” 

With that, Nova disappeared. Sprx was in such a state of shock that even being called the nickname that he loathed with all his being didn’t bother him. 

Sprx didn’t know what to do, he felt like his heart had been shattered and the logical part of his brain just exploded. Nothing made any sense. 

“It would make sense if you would just stop to think, granted that never was one of your strong points.” 

“Gibson?” Sprx turned to see the familiar blue monkey standing only a few feet away from him. “Oh, thank goodness, someone who will have some answers. What’s going on?” 

Gibson narrowed his eyes. “Well, with no thanks to you, we are all lost, Sprx. It is all your fault.” 

“Wait just a second, how is any of this my fault? And what is this anyway?” 

“You never listen, do you? That’s the whole reason we are all in this predicament.” 

“No, we are in this predicament because Skeleton King is a jerk.” 

“Well, then, if you are just that smart, why haven’t you saved us? You’re the strong one and all.” 

Sprx blinked. “Well, Nova’s the fighter, and wait a second, you’re the brain of this outfit, how come you haven’t figured something out?” 

“Excuses, Sprx, nothing but excuses. You’ll have to face that fact that all is lost, and it is all your fault.” 

Gibson started to walk away. 

“No, Gibson, wait!” 

But then Sprx began to fall again. It didn’t last long, but it was another hard landing. 

“Us monkeys never fall on our feet, do we?” 

“Oh, great, are you going to tell me that everything is my fault too, Otto?” 

“Not really,” Otto helped him up. “You should know that enough already. You messed up, Sprx.” 

“It’s not like I meant to! I was trying to get Nova out of that stuff, and if you guys followed me it’s your own fault, not mine.” 

Otto gave him a sad sort of look. “Sprx, would you ever abandon us?” 

Sprx blinked at him, taken by surprise at the tone of his voice. “Well, no, of course not.” 

“Then how could you think we would ever abandon you?” 

Otto walked away. 

“Hey, Otto, don’t leave me now!” 

Sprx rushed towards him, but an invisible wall stopped him. He watched Otto walk away and disappear into the darkness. 

“No, I don’t want to be alone again,” Sprx whispered. 

“Oh, no, you’re not alone.” 

The voice was vaguely familiar. 

“Who the he- whoa!” Sprx cried out as he was grabbed by the shoulders and attacked. Strong claws wrapped around his neck, slowly choking him and he fell back on the ground. Sprx felt his heart stop as he looked up into his own face. 

“Wha-?” he choked out. 

“Face it, Sprx-77, you lost,” The doppelganger said. 

Sprx struggled, but nothing he did was any good. He realized he had another problem when he felt a wave of water wash over the back of his head and body like a tide coming in, and it continued to rise as he continued to struggle. 

“Why?” Sprx was finally able to get enough air to ask the question before the water covered his mouth. 

It was very disturbing to see his face crack a cruel smile. 

“Either join me or die.” 

The voice was not quite his, evil hung heavily on every word. 

_Skeleton King?_ Sprx thought. 

It was then he realized that the lack of oxygen to his brain was causing his vision to blur. The water had covered them both and he could feel them sinking. It was inevitable; he was going to die. 

Mainly because there sure wasn’t any way he was going to join Skeleton King. 

Sprx felt like crying. 

_It’s my fault. I knew it was a bad idea but I rushed in after Nova anyway, and now they all hate me,_ Sprx thought. 

“Sprx.” 

The voice was far away. 

“Sprx!” 

Sprx didn’t care who it was; he just wanted to be left to his fate. 

“Sprx, wake up!” 

There was another pull at his shoulders and suddenly Sprx could feel air around him again. He forced himself to cough before someone decided to give him CPR. As he did, a firm hand pat him hard on the back. 

“Are you all right, Sprx?” 

After a few more coughs and clearing his throat, Sprx looked up. 

“Antauri?” 

“Yes, Sprx, are you all right?” 

Sprx couldn’t help himself. He leaped forward and hugged Antauri. 

“Oh, man, you have no idea how glad I am to find someone who makes sense,” Sprx backed off a little to look Antauri in the eyes again. “As long as you are someone who will make sense.” 

“I can try to. Please explain what has happened.” 

Sprx told Antauri everything, sparing very little detail. 

“But I know I’ve had that conversation with Mandarin before and in the same place, it was so weird,” Sprx finished. 

“I, too, had an encounter with him, although I cannot say it was the same type of encounter. What I can say so far is this; we seem to be in an unconscious state. This monster’s powers seem to include using our memories, thoughts and fears against us. The monster probably used your memory of your encounter with Mandarin to find your weakness and then tried to send you into a state of despair by using the memory of your own teammates against you. Then it wanted to drive you deeper with your fear of water. You tend to take what we say to heart more than anyone else.” 

“Well, yeah, of course, you guys are my family. Did he shake you up, too?” 

“I’m not so sure, part of me says that I’m okay and another says that it’s not over,” Antauri shook his head. “We must not forget that Skeleton King has some minor mental power and right now with this monster’s abilities to steal into our memories, we are all left highly vulnerable.” 

“I’m only sure of about half of what you said, but none of it sounds all that great.” 

Antauri smiled. “So it does not please you to learn that your teammates don’t really think our predicament is your fault?” 

“No matter what I do or say, Nova will always blame me.” 

Antauri chuckled. “I don’t think she would bother you so much if she didn’t like you at least a little bit.” 

They both stood up and looked around. 

“So, how do we get out of here and find the others?” Sprx asked. 

Antauri reached over and held one of Sprx’s hands. “Close your eyes and focus your mind on finding the others.” 

“Okay, sure, but what’s with the holding hands thing?” 

Antauri opened one eye. “Do you feel confident to venture on the mental plains all by yourself? This is to assure that we stay connected.” 

Sprx nodded and held Antauri’s hand tightly as he squeezed his eyes shut. He hated these types of things; it always sent shivers up his spine. 

Antauri smiled a little, feeling sympathetic. He knew Sprx always resisted any kind of mental and telekinetic training. Sprx possibly had too young of a spirit to understand that the unknown wasn’t necessarily something to be feared. But for now, he would have to deal with it and trust that everything would be all right. 

Sprx felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He tried to ignore it as the minutes went by, but it didn’t go away, and the longer it stayed the more nervous it made him. He was trying his best to stay focused and picture Nova and the others in his mind. 

Very suddenly, flashes came and occupied his vision. He saw a flash of Nova, first. She was fighting. Big surprise. He could see Chiro, he was doing the same, however something was paining him and holding him back. His mind desperately tried to find Gibson and Otto in the visions, but they weren’t there. 

Sprx gasped and opened his eyes as his hand slipped form Antauri’s. His whole body shook, he felt weak, and couldn’t help sinking to his knees. 

“Are you all right?” Antauri asked, kneeling next to him. 

“The others, I saw them,” Sprx said, his breath speeding up. “Nova and Chiro, I think they’re being attacked.” 

“I foresaw something to that nature as well. I could feel Otto and Gibson, but I could never make them out.” 

“Me neither. I just saw darkness and felt cold,” Sprx shuddered for a moment. He looked around, and then he slowly stood up again. There were six doors in front of them. “Where are we? What is this?” 

“This is the mental plain. These doors lead to the others. The first door was your own.” 

“How could you tell?” 

“I couldn’t.” 

Sprx counted on his fingers. “And how come there’s six of them?” 

“One may lead to the enemy, I am not sure. We may be running out of time, I’m going to go on, I suggest you stay here and rest.” 

Sprx nodded and Antauri started for a door. He suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Antauri’s wrist. 

“Wait.” 

“What is it?” 

Antauri turned to look him in the eyes. Sprx opened his mouth to talk, but he couldn’t think of what he wanted to say. He looked down at the ground, ashamed. 

“You don’t want to be left alone,” Antauri concluded, recognizing the behavior. 

Sprx slowly shook his head. 

“There is no shame in that, Sprx. I do want you to remember, though, that no Monkey Team member is ever alone.” 

Sprx grinned. “I guess not, especially with you and that freaky psychic thing you do.” 

Antauri’s mouth curved in a very slight smile. “Let’s get going.”


	18. Nova Vs. The Hyper Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is the Golden Warrior strong enough to defeat the darkness of her own mind?

Nova opened her eyes, expecting to be surrounded by darkness, except she found herself surrounded by light. She put a hand up to shield her eyes, but the source of the light seemed to be all around with no relief.

“What’s happening?” Nova wondered.

An evil voice chuckled as the light dissipated slightly so that Nova could clearly see her surroundings. It looked like her favorite training arena; the rock quarry.

“All right, what is this?” Nova demanded, knowing better than to actually believe she was in the holographic training room.

“This is where you will fight for your life,” Skeleton King’s voice reverberated around the canyon.

“Oh, really?” Nova said, crossing her arms.

“Yes and here is your first opponent.”

Nova looked around and was surrounded by ten Formless.

“Piece of cake,” she muttered, activating her weapons. “Kyaaaaaaa!”

Nova rushed towards four of the Formless and jumped at them. They backed up, which lead to Nova landing on the ground. No matter, she drove her fists into the rock. The mini-quake was enough to knock the Formless off their feet and rock showered down onto them, reducing the small group into a small puddle.

The other Formless began to gang up on her. Nova glanced behind her shoulder and began her attack. She threw a back-kick, which caught a Formless in the knee and it went down. She leaped over the heads of two Formless, who attacked her from both sides. She landed on their heads and before they hit the ground she wrapped her tail around the fist of another Formless and pulled it on top of its comrades. While they were untangling themselves, the remaining three went to gang up on Nova.

“Lady Tomahawk!” Nova cried, leaping for the one in the lead.

She easily powered through the monster. She spun around and wrapped her tail around the waist of one of the other Formless and used the continuing force to slam into the last remaining Formless.

Nova glanced around, making sure they were all down.

“Like I said, piece of cake,” Nova said. “Care to give me a real challenge?”

“That was just a warm up. Now let’s see how you do against the one who trained you.”

Nova blinked. “Master Offay?”

“Nice try, Nova.”

“Mandarin.”

The orange and yellow monkey faced off. Mandarin looked cool and calm, Nova had fire in her eyes.

“You didn’t train me,” Nova growled at him.

“On the contrary, where do you think you’ve received your basics?” Mandarin asked. “And if you don’t have the basics, learning anything beyond them is futile.”

“I hardly call beating us within an inch of our lives ‘training.’”

“Well, let’s see how much you’ve learned.”

Their hands went up and the battle began.

At first, the two circled each other. Mandarin still kept his calm façade. Nova was a little uneasy since she hadn’t fought Mandarin in years.

How much had he changed, anyway? Knowing him and his “holier than thou” attitude, likely not much.

Nova shuffled forward quickly and tried a kick. Mandarin backed up, so Nova kept the movement going with a spinning kick. Mandarin avoided that as well.

“Monkey Mind Scream!” Mandarin shot the attack while Nova was still spinning.

“Nice try,” Nova launched herself into the air, avoiding the energy blast. “Boom Boom Wake Up!”

Mandarin watched in horror as Nova dropped straight on top of him. He tried to avoid the attack but only got a spray of rock. When his arms lowered, he saw Nova standing there, arms folded and a smirk on her face.

She had missed him on purpose.

With a screech from them both, claws were bared and they went for it again. Their claws locked for a moment, each trying to overpower the other, but they were too evenly matched for strength. It would have to come down to skill and technique.

They each broke their hold and began striking at each other again. For every strike one had, the other blocked, countered, was blocked, and struck again.

Suddenly, Mandarin turned and used his tail to grip Nova tight around the ankle. With a quick whip, Nova was picked up and Mandarin spun her around.

Just as Nova was beginning to feel nauseous, he released her and she went flying into a rock wall. She just barely got her senses back when he locked her arms behind her back.

“Let me go!” Nova demanded with a growl.

“Tsk, you know, I have never approved of your attitude, Nova. It’s very unbecoming of a female. I’ve only tolerated it because I felt sorry for you. Too bad you never had a parent to teach you how to be a lady.”

This made Nova struggle harder. Mandarin chuckled and put on more pressure.

“Struck a nerve, didn’t I?” he stated coolly.

Nova took a slow, deep breath as she gathered her strength again. She twisted her leg and pulled it up enough to kick Mandarin’s ankle. She took advantage of his moment of imbalance to twist out of his grip, and then she knocked him down with a powerful kick to his head. Nova then kicked his side so he rolled over onto his back and laid a foot heavily on his chest.

“I am _not_ going to allow you to hurt me anymore, Mandarin,” she said firmly, the familiar fire of her anger glowing in her eyes. “You cannot hurt me.”

Mandarin sighed. “If you insist, but what about them?”

“Huh?”

“Your battle with Mandarin is finished. You have another opponent to be concerned about.”

Nova turned slowly to the voice. She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or worry when she saw who it was.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m not going to fight you, Gibson, I’d mop the floor with you,” Nova said, letting out a small, nervous laugh.

The blue monkey stood before her, his drills activated and spinning slowly. He was obviously thinking of fighting her.

“Are you always so sure of your fighting abilities? I thought Antauri had always warned us all never to underestimate our opponent,” Gibson said.

Nova shook her head. “This is crazy. This has got to be a dream.”

“If this was a dream, could I do this?”

Gibson fired a line of icy liquid at Nova. It hit her feet and instantly froze them to the ground.

“Hey! What gives?”

“Whirling Destructo Saws!” another familiar voice cried.

Nova glanced over her shoulder and made herself fall to one side. Otto’s saws hit the ice and freed her feet. She rolled to the side and jumped up.

“This is insane, why are you two fighting me?” Nova asked. “You guys are like my brothers, I don’t want to fight you! I refuse to!”

“Then prepare to be destroyed,” Otto said. He and Gibson started towards her.

“No, snap out of it, guys!” Nova said, desperately hoping her words would somehow make it through. “The ooze must be messing with your heads! Please! You wouldn’t really hurt me.”

“We may not, but he will,” Gibson said.

Before Nova could turn, a flying kick aimed at her back knocked her over. She knew that had to be Antauri. She was quickly overwhelmed, mainly because she refused to fight back, and was pinned to the rock floor. Antauri held one of her arms, Otto held the other, Gibson controlled her legs and she could now see Sprx looming over her.

“Sprx, please,” she pleaded softly, her heart beginning to speed up.

“This is the end, Nova,” Sprx said, activating his magnets and making them spark with magnetic energy.

“Don’t do this, you know you don’t want to do this,” Nova tried again.

“It’s over, be destroyed with honor and accept it,” Antauri said.

Nova tried struggling one more time, but it was futile. Sprx was coming closer, and she knew all too well what he was capable of.

However, they seemed to forget what she was capable of, too.

Anger started boiling hot deep within her. She didn’t blame the team, of course, she blamed Skeleton King. He had to be part of all of this and she resented him using her own family against her. He knew she wouldn’t fight them.

Or would she?

Nova could feel the fiery hot flames heating all of her surfaces. She didn’t see the confused look from the others, or that Antauri was suddenly standing just behind Sprx instead of holding her left arm down. She let out an angry scream and ripped her right hand from Gibson’s grip and without thinking, aimed her strike at Sprx’s chest.

Suddenly, she could see clearly. The menacing look in Sprx’s eyes disappeared and was replaced with confusion. He looked down where Nova’s fist had not met his body, but instead went straight though him. He looked back up into Nova’s eyes, which were clearing into understanding.

“Nova, what did you-?” Sprx started, his voice shaking.

“Sprx, I,” Nova stammered. She was unable to believe what happened herself.

Sprx opened his mouth to say something, but instead he fell forward, the light of life in his eyes went out.

“Sprx! Sprx, no!” She screamed, horrified. She knelt down beside him and turned him over.

Anyone could clearly see the damage was done.

“Oh no, Sprx,” Nova whispered. “Sprx, please, come back to me.”

Lost in despair, Nova laid over Sprx and began to cry.

“Nova.”

She didn’t hear him.

“Nova, get a hold of yourself.”

Nova finally jumped when a hand was laid on her back. She turned and saw Antauri standing just behind her.

“Antauri, is it really you?”

“Yes, Nova, it’s me, everything is going to be all right.”

“No, I’m sorry Antauri, but it’s never going to be okay. I, I, well, look.”

She broke out into tears again, turning away from both Sprx and Antauri.

“Nova, you must calm down, it’s all in your head.”

“No, it isn’t, I saw it myself!”

“Look around.”

Nova sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked around and saw never-ending darkness. She blinked a few times; this place had a different feel from the rock quarry. Something was amiss.

“Sometimes you still can’t control that temper, can you?” Antauri asked, smiling just a little.

“Wait, where am I?” Nova wondered, ignoring Antauri’s question. “Something is different about you. I don’t understand Antauri, what’s happening?”

“Though you are very in-tune with the Power Primate yourself, Nova, I believe you lost your senses in a moment of despair. Our minds are being used against us through the power of this monster.”

Nova took a deep shuddering breath. “Okay, I think I understand a little,” she frowned again, looking fretful. “But what about-“

“Ah, you couldn’t get rid of me if you ran me over with the Foot Crusher.”

Nova’s heart stopped. She looked over and saw Sprx standing up. He was completely undamaged.

“Sprx!” Nova ran to him and hugged him tightly. “Oh, Sprx, I thought I killed you!”

Sprx was a little surprised, but hugged her back anyway with a grin. “Come on, this is me you’re talking to.”

“But how? I don’t get it.”

“Please explain what you’ve experienced,” Antauri said.

Nova told her story. Antauri nodded.

“It seems you’ve conquered one of your insecurities, however another was exposed,” Antauri said.

“Well, yeah, I’d never intentionally hurt any of you,” Nova said.

“However you fear the day where it might be necessary.”

“I think Antauri and I sort of walked into your mind at the wrong time. I did see some creepy version of myself standing over you, and when I went to attack him, I seemed to have sorted melded with him. That’s when you attacked,” Sprx said.

“But as you can see, no real damage was done. I think the only damage was to your own heart,” Antauri said.

Nova took another deep, calming breath. “I'm glad I didn’t punch a hole in your stomach Sprx,” she let go of him and punched him in the shoulder. “But stop wandering around in my brain!”

“Ow, man,” Sprx grumbled.

“What now?” Nov asked, looking to Antauri.

“We find the others,” Antauri said.

“Okay, good plan, and how do we do that?” Nova asked.

“We hold hands, close our eyes, and sing _Kumbaya_ ,” Sprx quipped.

Nova punched his shoulder again.

“Enough you two,” Antauri said with a sigh. He took one of Nova’s hands and one of Sprx’s hands. “I suggest you two do the same.”

Sprx took Nova’s hand with a grin. Nova glared back.

“Now close your eyes and concentrate on finding the others,” Antauri instructed.

The effects weren’t the same on Nova, who was more adept at mental exercises than anyone else on the team besides Antauri. Sprx felt like he was getting a little used to it, but he was still breathing heavily when they arrived at the doors.

“What’s wrong with you?” Nova asked.

“I get mind-sick, I guess,” Sprx said with a grimace.

“I know you have a sick mind, Sprx, tell me what’s really wrong.”

“Oh, hush.”

“So, what’s with the doors?”

“They lead to the minds of the others. This one was Sprx,” Antauri said, pointing at one door. “And this one was yours.”

“But there’s six,” Nova said.

“Yes, one may belong to an enemy.”

“Well what about one for you? I mean, Sprx and I are here and so are our doors.”

“Hm, I don’t believe that is the case,” Antauri heaved a deep sigh, as if he was trying to give himself more strength. “However, whatever the case may be, we need to keep moving. You two can either stay here or come along with me. I do suggest resting may be the best option for you two.”

“What about you?” Sprx asked.

“I’ll be fine. I’m used to this,” Antauri said.

However, he knew he was partially lying to himself. Yes, he was used to this, but how much longer could he hold out? Antauri knew that even he had only so much energy.

“Well, let’s get going,” Nova said, starting towards the next door.

Sprx nodded, and so did Antauri.

They went through the door together.

When Antauri went through Sprx’s door, it was like going through a tunnel. He had kept walking, following Sprx’s energy until the red monkey came into view. When they both went through Nova’s door, there was another tunnel, and then a rock wall that blocked the entrance to the rock quarry, after breaking through that, they had found Nova in her predicament. But through this door, there was no tunnel. They had walked straight into a solid wall.

“What is this?” Sprx asked.

“I have no idea,” Antauri said, his fingers grazing over the wall lightly. “But whoever this belongs to is obviously trapped.”

“And well guarded, look,” Nova said.

Both male monkeys turned and saw that they were surrounded.


	19. Otto's Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Otto has some things about him that none of the others would have guessed. It is always the quiet ones, and no, I don’t mean it that way. Ha ha ha.

Otto opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a fairly small space, white walls surrounded him, he sat on a white floor, and a white ceiling was a few feet above him head. Plenty of room to move around if Otto so wished.

But he didn’t.

Otto stayed seated, his legs spread and his hands resting between them. He looked more like a sad, lost monkey child than the strong and able mechanic of the Hyper Force. Many thoughts were running through Otto’s head. As a result, he had started a small debate with himself.

“Where am I?” He asked himself out loud. “It feels kinda familiar, like I’ve been here before.”

_Well, duh,_ a part of his mind said. _It should feel familiar, you made it._

“I did?”

_Yes. A long, long time ago. You’re not stupid, Otto. A little eccentric, what inventor isn’t, but not stupid._

“I know that. I guess this was what I made when-”

Otto couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

_He still bothers you, doesn’t he?_

“Nah, Gibson’s understood that I don’t care much for chemistry and he’s left me alone.”

_Otto, you know who I meant._

“What, Mandarin? Nah, no way.”

_Liar._

“What?”

_You forget your own mind, Otto? Isn’t that dangerous? Didn’t Antauri ever tell you-_

Otto stood up, his fists clenched. “I don’t care! I solved my problem and I was happy! I was just fine until you came along!” Otto crouched down, his hands gripping the sides of his head. “I just want everyone to leave me alone.”

_It’s not going to stop, Otto. It will continue to eat away at your heart and soul, no matter how many walls you put up, no matter how many defenses you may have._

Otto squeezed his eyes shut tighter. Metal walls appeared around him.

The voice let out a long, sad sigh.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

“What are they, Antauri?” Nova asked after knocking down another humanoid figure who acted as guard to the wall that stood in their way.

“I am uncertain; they must be defending this wall, but why?” Antauri wondered as his claws sliced the back of another.

“Nova and I will take care of these guys, maybe if you can figure out who’s behind the wall we can do something about saving them!” Sprx said.

“Excellent idea,” Antauri said.

Nova and Sprx drew the attention of the guards and Antauri was able to get close enough to the wall to touch it, but before his fingers could graze the surface, more guards attacked.

“Maybe it’s a dud, a dead end,” Sprx suggested after a guard knocked him within a few feet of Antauri.

The black monkey moved quickly to help his teammate up.

“No, someone is here, there has to be a clue somewhere,” Antauri said, looking at their surroundings.

He watched Nova face off with a group of six guards. He watched the way they were fighting very carefully. Their style was odd and very unlike most that they’ve seen. The guards seemed to wait and calculate their moves rather than be the instigators. They had a very mechanical way of moving, despite their apparent flexibility. The guards looked a bit like the Formless, except perhaps more human and they were taller. They had no features, just black figures, like shadows.

“Who made these things, anyway?” Nova asked in frustration when one of her kicks was evaded.

“I am beginning to wonder that myself.” Antauri said flatly.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Otto rocked back and forth, still in a crouched position, his eyes were still shut tight and his hands clasping the sides of his head. He was singing to himself.

The song came from a radio transmission he picked up when he was first learning how interstellar communication worked. They had traveled very far from Shuggazoom and the transmission came from another inhabited planet in a nearby solar system. The words didn’t mean very much to Otto, especially at first, but nevertheless it was still intriguing. The song spoke strange words that Otto guessed had to be faraway planets, or perhaps beautiful stars. They could have even been the names of people, but he didn’t care.

Otto made his own recording of the song before Mandarin ordered him to delete the transmission. He listened to the song over and over until he learned it by heart. It had a calming effect on him and he took to humming or singing it softly when he was frustrated or sad.

“Aruba, Jamaica, I wanna take ya, Bermuda, Bahamas, come on pretty mama,” he muttered, continuing to rock.

“Otto.”

Otto sang louder as his heart began to beat harder.

“Otto, listen to yourself.”

Otto felt hands grip his wrists gently, trying to pull his hands away from his head. He struggled for a few minutes and then finally looked up to glare at whoever was trying to rouse him, ready for a fight.

He really wasn’t too surprised to find himself looking at himself.

“Who are you?” Otto already knew the answer.

“I’m you. A part of your mind, to be more specific,” his twin said.

The voice was different, a little less gravely than his. It sounded a little like Antauri’s voice.

“Oh, then why are you here?” Otto asked.

“Drop the comments. Playing stupid now is just another way of lying to yourself. On top of that, you can’t lie to me and get away with it. I know everything you know,” Otto lowered his hands, sat down and let his legs straighten out again. His twin nodded approvingly. “Okay, good, now we can talk. Why are you doing all of this?”

“I’m tired,” Otto said with a sigh. “I don’t want anyone in my head anymore and I don’t want to remember things.”

“When you woke up, you starting thinking about him, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. After the ooze got me, I felt like I fell asleep, but I wasn’t. Then my head started feeling all weird and fuzzy, like my brain was going numb. Somehow, I knew something was trying to mess with my mind, and I just don’t want anyone in here anymore.”

Otto sniffed and shook his head, trying to keep from crying.

“I understand, Otto.”

“You have to, you’re me.”

“Yes. However, if you put up so many walls and stay so guarded, not only are you shutting out all that’s bad, but all that’s good, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“The rest of the team loves you Otto, Chiro does, too. If you keep this up, you’ll hurt them and well as yourself.”

Otto hugged his knees into his chest. “I think it would be better if everyone just left me. No offense, but I don’t believe you.”

The twin blinked. “Wait, what?”

Otto looked up, a defiant look in his eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

He slowly stood up, his twin followed.

“Now, wait a moment, you’re being completely illogical. You know the truth, you’re just hiding from it and making excuses.”

“I don’t care.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Otto, I’m warning you, keep this up, and-”

“And what?”

The twin was starting to look truly worried. They stared at each other for a moment and then Otto turned away and walked to a corner where he stood and didn’t move. His twin frowned.

“You keep this up and you could die,” the twin murmured.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Antauri, Nova and Sprx sat to one side. The guards paced in front of the wall, seemingly oblivious to their presence.

“So, as long as we don’t go close to that wall, they won’t bother us,” Sprx said.

“Also, they seem to be sensitive to when I try using my telepathy to try to figure out whose wall this is,” Antauri said.

Nova watched the guards intently, trying to figure out what to do.

“Who would build up such a wall?” Nova asked.

“Think maybe we could power through the guards and break it down?” Sprx asked, slamming his fists together.

“No, Sprx, that could be detrimental,” Antauri said.

“Dentra-what?” Sprx asked.

“Detrimental. It means it could severely damage the mind it belongs to. No, we have to figure out another way.”

“Antauri, do you think this wall was made by Skeleton King?” Nova asked.

“I’m highly doubtful of that. I don’t feel anything evil, however, I do sense a great deal of pain and mental anguish. Obviously this is a defensive wall,” Antauri stood up. “I have a plan. Would you two please draw the attention of the guards again?”

“Feel up to another round, Nova?” Sprx said with a smirk.

Nova smiled at him. “Always,” she stood as well and looked at Antauri with a small frown. “Who do you suppose this is, anyway?”

“I cannot say. I’m going to try to move slowly and mask my intentions from the guards, please do what you can,” Antauri said.

“Sure thing, just be careful,” Nova said.

Antauri smiled. “I’ll be fine. Mind yourselves.”

Nova and Sprx moved forward towards the wall, the guards immediately took notice and moved to intervene them. As the fight began anew, Antauri did as he said he would, moving very slowly, only this time he made sure his mind stayed as blank as possible. It took a while, but Antauri was finally able to get close to the wall unnoticed. He put a hand on the wall and closed his eyes. After a moment, Antauri sighed.

‘Come on, Otto, I know you’re in there. You’re the only one who’s ever put up walls against me.’

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Otto was holding his head again and screaming. His twin looked very concerned.

“What is it?” he asked.

“No! I don’t want Mandarin in here again! No, no, no, no, no!” Otto screamed, shaking his head. “I can’t take it, I don’t want to do this anymore!”

Otto’s twin went to his side and tried to console him.

“He’s not here, Otto, he never will-”

“No, I see him,” Otto’s eyes were shut tight. “He’s doing it again, he’s hurting them! Stop it, you’ll kill him!”

“Talk to me, Otto, what do you see?” his twin asked desperately, worried more than ever now that Otto seemed to start hallucinating.

“What he always does; hurting Sprx, insulting Nova, degrading Gibson, constantly trying to rip down Antauri, why is he doing this? He’s our leader, our brother, I told him everything, why did he keep everything from me?!”

Otto sank to his knees with a sob. His twin went with him.

“This is why I put up the walls, this is why I don’t want anyone to know me, I don’t want to feel this anymore!”

“But this is the stuff that life is made of, Otto, the only thing you can do is work through it,” the twin sighed again. “Look, Otto, if you go and shut everyone else out, you’re going to hurt them the same way Mandarin hurt you.”

Otto gasped, the words hitting him like a wall.

“But, but I’m not hurting them, I’m just not telling them,” Otto stammered after a moment.

“And Mandarin just didn’t tell you.”

Otto shut his eyes again and started shaking his head. The twin heaved another sigh.

“If you’re not willing to help yourself, then I cannot help you any longer.”

With that, the twin disappeared. Otto didn’t notice.

Otto had finally reached a depth in his mind where nothing mattered.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

“Hey, Sprx, did you see where Antauri went?” Nova asked as she blocked a punch.

“Nope, he better be doing something right, otherwise we’re working out tails off for nothing,” Sprx said, tripping up a guard with his tail.

Nova took another glance around. She had a suspicion on who had built the wall and it made her feel very uneasy.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Otto had sunk deeper and deeper into his depression. He was alone now, guarded all too well by his own mind, he didn’t even have the energy or the desire to save himself.

He lay on his side, his eyes closed gently, unwilling to move; waiting for a fate he didn’t know or care to see. He wondered briefly how well the others knew him. He wondered what would happen to the team when he was gone.

Otto came to the conclusion that they were better off without him.

Time passed. Nothing changed.

Suddenly, it seemed, something did happen. A pair of arms wrapped under Otto’s arms and across his chest, pulling him up to a sitting position.

“No,” Otto murmured. “Go away.”

“I won’t.”

The voice was strong and familiar. The arms around him were also strong and held him close to a warm body. Otto felt a moment of panic and tried to get away, but it wouldn’t work.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Otto knew it wouldn’t.

“Antauri, let me go,” Otto said pleadingly.

“No, I won’t, and you know it,” Antauri replied coolly, holding Otto firmly. “Now, I think it’s time you’ve learned some truths, Otto.”

Otto tried to struggle out of the black monkey’s grip again, but he just couldn’t summon the strength or the will. Antauri waited patiently until he calmed down again. Otto had stopped struggling but his body was still tense.

“Mandarin can no longer hurt you, Otto, as long as you don’t let him,” Antauri began. “We have spoken of this before. You’ve decided to hide your pain and this is where it has lead you. You’ve become reclusive, you don’t talk about it, and trying to work through it alone has not worked.”

“But it hurts,” Otto muttered, his eyes now half-way open.

“It will, but with time, it would hurt less.”

They stopped talking for a moment.

“Would you let go of me now?” Otto asked.

“No, I don’t trust you to not run away from me. There’s still more I feel that I should remind you of,” Antauri hugged Otto closer with one arm and used one hand to slowly stroke the side of his head. “You do have a family that loves you, Otto. Nova enjoys helping you test out your newest training inventions. Gibson may appear irritated when you two banter, but I don’t think he could get through some of his calculations without you. Sprx knows you’re a brilliant inventor, despite how he may act. Chiro would be heartbroken if he knew that you doubted the relationship you two have for a second. As for myself, Otto, I worried about you the most back in those days and I’m worried for you still. I don’t think I could forgive myself if something happened to you or anyone else.”

Antauri hugged Otto tighter. Otto lifted one hand to pat Antauri’s arm.

“I’m sorry, Antauri,” Otto sighed. “I’ve been so stupid. I guess I really am the dumb one, huh?”

“No, just fell into Skeleton King’s trap for a while, I think. Everyone has their moments of despair and weakness, and it’s getting out of them that’s challenging.”

Otto yawned and Antauri felt Otto’s body finally relax.

“Still, I’m sorry for forgetting,” Otto said softly.

“We forgive you, Otto, you don’t have to apologize. Now we have to get out of here, but we can’t if your walls are up.”

“Sorry.”

The walls dissolved, as did the guards, and Antauri frowned slightly as Otto’s body felt limp in his arms.

“What the heck was that all about?” Sprx asked as he and Nova looked around, suddenly finding themselves in a space without guards or the wall.

“Otto!” Nova cried, spotting the other two monkeys.

The two rushed over.

“It’s all right, I believe he’s only exhausted,” Antauri said.

Sprx blinked. “You mean he’s asleep?”

“Yes.”

“Why that lousy little,” Sprx raised a fist to knock Otto in the head.

“Let him be,” Antauri ordered. “As long as we’ve defeated another obstacle, it doesn’t matter. Let’s get back to the plain.”

It took a lot less time, Sprx didn’t feel as sick, and the four of them were sitting in front of the six doors again.

“How long do you think he’ll sleep?” Nova asked, kneeling down next to them.

“Hopefully not long, in this state he may still be susceptible to attack,” Antauri explained.

“How come he’s so tired?” Sprx asked.

“It takes a lot of energy to build up walls and maintain them,” Antauri said.

“Wait, that was all him? The walls and the guards?” Nova asked.

“Yes.”

“Whoa, never knew the little guy had it in him,” Sprx said softly, staring into Otto’s sleeping face. He always did look at Otto like a baby brother.

“Was it because of Mandarin?” Nova asked. “I remember him being really torn apart over him being evil.”

“Partly, I believe he was pulled into believing other things as well, however, that is a discussion that will be between you and him if he chooses to have it,” Antauri stood up very carefully, being sure to lie Otto on the ground gently enough so he wouldn’t wake him. “The next door I had better do on my own. Stay with Otto, try to wake him up in a little while.”

“You sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Nova asked.

“Yes,” Antauri looked over at the doors and chose another.

“Hey, Antauri,” Sprx called. Antauri looked over his shoulder. “Be careful, okay? I’d hate to have to save your tail again.”

Antauri smiled. “Likewise.”

Then Antauri was gone. Sprx and Nova exchanged glances.

“Ever get the feeling something else is missing that you don’t know about?” Nova asked.

“Sweetheart, things just keep getting more and more weird to me,” Sprx looked at his feet, and then shook his head. “With Antauri, everything seems to be missing.”

Nova didn’t quite understand what Sprx had meant; all she knew is that it didn’t make the twisted feeling in her stomach go away.


	20. Chiro's Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Repressing is never a good idea; however your mind seems to do it of its own accord anyways.

Chiro walked through a dark hall. The plush carpet beneath his feet masked the sound of his footsteps. At the end of the hall was a door cracked open just enough to let a pale, yellow light shine through.

As Chiro got closer, he noticed an open door to his left. The room was as dark as the hallway, but somehow Chiro could make the outlines of a bed and a shelf on the wall beside it, opposite the doorway. A flash of lightening lit up the room long enough for Chiro’s eyes to catch the picture frames on the shelf. He could see they were pictures of a small, one-child family, but he couldn’t make out any of their features.

A gentle voice caught his ear and he turned back to make his way to the door at the end of the hall. He crept closer and when he got to the door he carefully peeked through the crack.

Inside the room was a dark figure, like a shadow, Chiro could only guess it was a woman. She seemed to have the shape of one, and pale, gray outlines made her nose, eyes, mouth, ears, and hair. In her arms she was cradling a bundle of soft blue blanket.

Chiro strained to listen to what the shadow was saying, or singing, he couldn’t tell. Then he realized that she wasn’t saying words at all, it sounded all jumbled. The only sound that he could make out clearly was the soft cooing from the blanket.

A deep voice speaking more garbled words was behind Chiro. He cried out, jumping and turning to face the voice at the same time, when another shadow figure went through him.

Chiro gasped, expecting something bad to happen, but there was nothing. The shadow had passed him and went inside the room. It had to be male, and it seemed to be speaking to the woman figure. They stood next to each other, making their noises and sounds to the bundle.

Chiro watched them for a minute, and upon deciding that they couldn’t see him, he went into the room. The figures continued to ignore Chiro’s presence, even when he tiptoed very close and looked over the female shadow’s arms and into the bundle.

He was a little surprised to see it wasn’t a shadow. Inside the bundle of blankets was a small, newborn baby boy. Very short and soft black hair covered his head and bright blue eyes peered up at the shadow figures. He cooed and waved his tiny hand.

Chiro stared close at the tiny face.

“It’s me,” he whispered in awe. “I was a cute baby.”

He looked away from the infant’s face for a moment to inspect the room. Mostly, things were colored in black, white, and gray. He wondered how come the only things that held a definite color were the baby’s eyes, his hair, and the blankets. He wondered why the voices of the shadows were garbled sounds, yet the baby coos and gurgling were clear as a bell.

“What’s going on here?” Chiro wondered.

A deep, evil laughter echoed around the room. Chiro put his hands up, ready for a fight. Suddenly everything swirled around him like water going down a drain. He screamed as he was pulled down with everything else.

When everything stopped, he found himself in the same room, but things were different. The cradle was gone, there was now a small toy box in one corner, and a picture of three shadows hung near the door. There was a rocking chair near the bed that was pushed against one wall. The two shadows were there again, the women in the chair and the man sat on the edge of the bed. In the bed was a toddler, its face flushed with what seemed to be a fever. The male ran a hand over the boys head, the woman slowly rocked back and forth.

“Story?” the toddler asked.

“It would be best if you slept, Chiro, you’ve caught a fairly bad bout of the flu,” the man shadow said.

“Tell him the story, dear, it may help him sleep,” The woman shadow said softly.

“Oh, all right.”

Chiro could tell in his voice that he really didn’t mind. He walked up so he stood at the foot of the bed, watching as his toddler self smiled and snuggled down deeper into the blankets.

He didn’t hear the story the man told. He didn’t notice that as the story continued, the man shadow’s voice became garbled again and unclear. The only thing Chiro could keep his eyes on was the tiny toddler as he drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound like thunder. The two adults shadows stood, their worry penetrated the air. Chiro started to worry too and was ready for what was going to come.

At least, he thought he was ready.

The loud sound boomed again, a window broke and a cold wind blew around the room.

'Protect the baby!' was the only thought that got into Chiro’s mind. He had no idea who put it there.

Chiro glanced over at the toddler-Chiro. He was stirring in his sleep, being awoken by the terrible event that was taking place around him. Chiro looked back at the shadows parents. They huddled together in front of the bed, as if they were going to make a barrier to protect their child. Outside the room, many more crashes were heard.

“Mama? Papa?” the toddler murmured, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“No, you can’t see this,” Chiro rushed over and held onto the toddler, using his body to shield the young child from his parents.

“Mama! Papa!” he wailed.

Chiro hugged him tight as a bright light surrounded them, suppressing his own want to cry out for the loss of his parents. Again.

They could feel something happening around them. There was energy, wind, and cold. Chiro knew whatever it was caused his life to change forever.

He found he couldn’t hold it any more. Chiro screamed.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

“Nooooo! Mom! Dad!” Chiro screamed and thrashed around.

“Chiro! Chiro, wake up!”

Chiro opened his eyes with a gasp and sat up. He was covered in a cold sweat and his dampened hair covered his eyes. He took a few deep breaths before using his shaking fingers to push his hair back.

“Who, wha, how,” Chiro’s throat was raw and dry.

“Here, dear, drink this up.”

Chiro took the cup of water that was handed to him and finished it in a few gulps.

“Thanks, Nova,” Chiro murmured, coughing slightly when a drop of water nearly went down his windpipe.

The female voice laughed. “Oh, my name is not Nova, darling, it’s Nurse Curtis.”

“What?”

The cloud over Chiro’s brain cleared and he looked at the nurse who stood by his bed. She had a smile as cheerful as the yellow scrubs she was wearing. Her silvery-white hair was pulled back in a tight bun.

The room was your typical hospital room. The walls were a creamy color, the bed covered in white sheets and blankets, a green curtain separated the two beds (Chiro noted the other bed was empty), and a machine to Chiro’s right was apparently monitoring his vital statistics and body functions.

“Where am I?” Chiro asked.

“You poor dear, do you have amnesia?” The nurse asked. She helped Chiro become more comfortable and poured him another cup of water. “Drink some more, hydration will do you some good.”

Chiro obeyed and drank the water slowly. Once the cup was empty again, he sat back against the pillows.

“What happened?” Chiro asked slowly.

The nurse pulled up a chair and grabbed a clipboard. “Tell me what you remember, dear.”

Chiro frowned slightly. He couldn’t tell her what had happened; he barely understood what was going on himself. He didn’t even know where he was.

“I don’t remember anything,” Chiro said.

The nurse sighed. “You poor thing, just know that you are safe here and I will explain.”

“I’m listening,” Chiro assured her.

“You had gone missing after school. When the police found you, you had collapsed in the abandoned part of the city. They had brought you home, but your fever had become worse and you had fainted. You’ve been asleep for three days,” Nurse Curtis explained.

Chiro frowned. “No, I’ve been gone much longer than that, and I found something in the abandoned section of the city.”

Nurse Curtis looked interested.

Chiro gulped. “I don’t think I can say anymore.”

“No, please, tell me what you found.”

“I’ll be in so much trouble,” Chiro gripped onto his hair in frustration, but then gasped and looked up. “The Monkey Team and the Super Robot! Where are they? What’s happened to them?”

Nurse Curtis stood up and put her hands on Chiro’s shoulders.

“Calm down now, Chiro dear, I think you ought to listen to yourself. There were no monkeys or robots, I believe you have been having a dream.”

“No, it wasn’t a dream, it can’t be,” Chiro started to hyperventilate. “It’s been months, the police were after me, I’ve learned so much, the Skeleton King-”

“Shh, Chiro, you have to calm down,” Nurse Curtis kept one hand on Chiro’s shoulder and the other she used to stroke his hair. She waited until he got his breathing under control. She went to pour another cup of water. “Now, just know that you’re safe here at the hospital. You seem to have a bit of amnesia and you seem to be a little delusional. Well, perhaps that is too strong a word. We will take care of you, now I believe you ought to sleep.”

Chiro shook his head after he took another gulp of water. “I don’t think I can ever sleep again.”

The rest of the afternoon and the majority of the evening, Chiro lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, and wondering what had happened to him. Eventually he had dozed off into a dreamless state. When he woke up, Nurse Curtis was there again, along with a doctor.

“Chiro, I am Dr. Nieli. I have spoken to Nurse Curtis and she has told me something that sounds quite intriguing. Could I perhaps speak to you about your issue?”

Chiro stared at Dr. Nieli blankly. He seemed like a nice man, probably in his thirties, he wore brown slacks under his white lab coat. Chiro nodded slowly.

Nurse Curtis helped Chiro into a wheelchair. He didn’t understand why, exactly, he felt that he could walk just fine. They had gone to a room that was brightly decorated with plants and pleasant pictures of fields and mountains. It seemed like it was used as a possible meeting room for small groups.

“Now, Chiro, would you please explain to me what you had said to Nurse Curtis yesterday? Feel free to elaborate; what you say will stay between the three of us,” Dr. Nieli said.

Chiro looked at both of them uneasily. He took a deep breath and decided to tell his story. Dr. Nieli had listened carefully and didn’t write anything on his clipboard until Chiro was finished.

“Now, Chiro, could you perhaps show me some proof that you’ve had some of this training?” Dr. Nieli asked.

“Uhm, like what?” Chiro asked.

“Like maybe those energy attacks you learned from Aunt Tari.”

“His name is Antauri,”

“Oh, sorry, but yes, if you please.”

Chiro stood up and looked around uneasily. “I don’t want to hurt you, or destroy anything.”

“Take out that wall,” Dr. Nieli pointed to the right side wall. “We were planning to remodel this wing in a month or so anyway, so please don’t feel you must hold back.”

Chiro nodded, and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

“Monkey Fu!” he cried as he pushed his hands out to direct the blast of energy.

But nothing happened. Chiro blinked and tried again. Again, there was nothing.

“I, I don’t understand,” Chiro murmured, looking at his hands.

“Chiro, are you sure that you didn’t just have a very vivid dream?” Dr. Nieli asked. “It is natural after being so ill to have hallucinated dream sequences that appear to be real.”

“No, this was real, it had to be for real, it has to,” Chiro slowly sank to his knees, his eyes burning from the tears he tried not to shed.

“Chiro, come now, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Why don’t we get you back to your room, we will talk more later on, but I believe now is a good time for you to rest,” Dr. Nieli said as he and the nurse got to their feet.

“No, it was for real and I’ll prove it!” Chiro yelled. He quickly got to his feet and tore out the door and down the hall.

“Chiro! Stop!” Dr. Nieli called after him.

But Chiro couldn’t stop. His mind raced; how could any of this be possible? He just had to prove that the Monkey Team and the Super Robot existed before they locked him in an asylum. Even if he was taken away from them, Chiro had to be sure that they were safe.

Chiro supposed no one told to orderlies this, because two of them jumped out from behind a wall to tackle and restrain him.

“No! Let me go!” Chiro screamed, desperately trying to wiggle loose.

He struggled only for a moment before someone stuck his arm with a needle and injected a tranquilizer. Another moment later, Chiro was asleep.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The next few days, Chiro tried escaping. He awoke to being strapped to his bed and relocated to the psychiatric wing of the hospital.

Finally, after ten days, Chiro decided that trying to escape was pointless. His brain started turning to more logical explanations. Perhaps it was a dream, or a fever-induced hallucination, like the doctors had suggested. It left him depressed, because it left him, again, without a family.

Two more weeks in the hospital were spent convincing Dr. Nieli that he was sane, admitting that the robot monkeys were just figments of his imagination, and he would love nothing more than to return to his foster home. Chiro wondered how much longer he would have to lie to the people around him before he began believing it himself.

Finally, Chiro was given a clean bill of physical and mental health and his foster parents took him back to the house. He was barely home for two minutes before his foster parents were arguing.

The next day was a school day. Everything was as it had been the day he left to go exploring. BT and Glenny still tormented him and most of the other students avoided him. Chiro couldn’t pay attention to any of his classes. He stared out the window, wondering what really did happen to him. What was a dream and what was real? Was there any difference and did anything matter?

Chiro decided it didn’t.

He sat at his desk the entire day. Never leaving for lunch or breaks, insisting to his teachers that he was fine, that he ate a big breakfast (when, in fact, he hadn’t eaten anything since he returned home), and he was perfectly content at his desk.

That last thing was the only truth he told that day.

When school was let out for the day, Chiro was the last one out of the classroom and the last one out of the building. He looked around at his classmates; many of them were hanging around outside, talking, laughing, content with their peaceful lives and with little to no care in the world.

Chiro wondered if he would ever feel that again.

He decided that he could go back to the abandoned part of the city to prove that the Super Robot wasn’t there.

“Or maybe it is there,” Chiro murmured to himself as he made for the school gates. “Maybe I’m psychic and my dream was actually a prediction of what was going to happen to me! That’s gotta be it!”

As the thoughts tumbled around Chiro’s mind, he began to walk faster until he broke out into a run. He grinned from ear to ear, so excited about his theory that he didn’t see the black car waiting for him.

“Chiro!”

Chiro didn’t hear him, but he caught up and grabbed his backpack, stopping him in his tracks.

“You are coming straight home, young man,” his foster father said sternly, glaring at Chiro as if he had committed a heinous crime.

“Why?” Chiro asked.

“Because we don’t trust you,” he said. “So from now on I will drive you to and from school. Try anything funny and we’ll boot you back to the orphanage.”

His foster parents weren’t the best, but Chiro knew it was better than the orphanage.

Chiro’s life continued this way for the next month. He was criticized the entire way to school, criticized by classmates and picked on mercilessly. Then when being driven home he received more lectures, and was forced to do his homework while trying to block out the endless verbally-abusive banter from his foster parents. Chiro’s grades, health, and mental stability were decreasing as the long days wore on.

Finally, Chiro couldn’t take it anymore.

One morning while he was in the shower, he found one of his foster father’s razors and hid it in his pants pocket. Afterwards, he sneaked into the master bedroom to steal the money they had received from the government to take care of him.

Since Chiro wasn’t returning home after today, the consequences weren’t his concern.

Chiro endured the ride to school and went inside as usual. In the middle of his morning class, he asked to be excused to use the restroom, and he took the opportunity to escape from the school after bribing the school guards.

He ran as fast as he could to the opposite end of the town, where he remembered fighting Formless for the very first time. The memory brought tears to his eyes and he wiped them away quickly.

“If you guys were a dream, then soon I’ll be able to dream forever. Perhaps I will see you all again,” Chiro said, picking up his speed.

He finally got to the edge of the city where a dock reached out over the ocean. Since it was still the middle of the morning, everyone was mostly at work or busy shopping. He had the dock to himself.

Chiro stood on the very edge and looked down in the water, which was about thirty feet below. He pulled the razor out of his pocket, gripping it tight and steeling himself for what he was about to do.

“I never learned to swim and I guess I never will,” Chiro murmured.

He took a deep breath, positioned the razor, and then let out a scream of pain before letting himself fall forward towards the ocean below. As he fell, Chiro wondered if he would die from the loss of blood or drown first.

“Chiro!”

Something slammed into Chiro’s body and snaked around his waist. He felt himself being pulled up into the air. Was this what dying felt like? It was really weird and the last thing he expected.

Everything went black for a moment, but then he felt the ground beneath him and someone was shaking him.

“Chiro, snap out of it!”

“Antauri?” Chiro opened his eyes and then upon seeing the robot monkey he immediately burst into tears. “You are real! I’m not crazy! You’re here, you’re here!”

Chiro sobbed as he hugged the black monkey close. Antauri pat Chiro on the head.

“I’m sorry, Chiro, that you had suffered like this.”

“Antauri, am I dead? What’s going on?” Chiro looked down at his wrists, which had no marks on them. “I-I-I cut my wrists, and, and then I fell, and-”

“Yes, I had seen. You are trapped within your own unconscious mind, Chiro, with the Formless Monster using your fears and doubts against you,” Antauri sighed, sat down and crossed his legs. “This is its power, and you must stay focused to defeat it.”

“What was with what I saw first?”

“What was it?”

“I saw myself as a baby and a little kid, like a really little kid. I think it was the day I lost my parents.”

“It sounds like a repressed memory. The mind works in mysterious ways, Chiro. These were traumatic things that have happened in your past.”

“The first one wasn’t so traumatic. Everything was black and white and the voices were all weird,”

“From what I can remember from my studies, most infants of all species don’t see color at first. Your mind as an infant wasn’t developed enough to understand colors or words.”

“But my eyes, my hair, and my baby blanket were in color.”

“What colors?”

“Blue, well, my hair, obviously black,”

“Perhaps blue was the first color you recognized?”

“Maybe,” Chiro sighed. “Are the others all right?”

“You will see for yourself in a moment. I do believe it would be to our advantage to get to where they are.”

“How do we do that?”

“Close your eyes and concentrate on finding the others. You can do it.”

Chiro closed his eyes and used his mind to seek out the energies of the others. He could feel Sprx, Nova, and Otto clear enough, Gibson felt distant, and though Antauri was right next to him, his energy felt faded as well.

Then again, Antauri was likely shielding himself from Skeleton King’s attack while in Chiro’s mind.

Chiro opened his eyes and found himself on the mental plain. The other three monkeys were close by near six white doors.

“What is this place?” Chiro asked.

“It is the mental plain, it’s a place where minds can meet and regroup. No harm can come to anyone here,” Antauri explained.

“Chiro!” Nova exclaimed.

“How you doing, kid?” Sprx asked.

“We were worried, Nova and Sprx told me that Antauri was gone a really long time,” Otto said.

Chiro looked concerned at the choice of Otto’s word. “Why did they have to tell you that?”

“Uhm, I was asleep,” Otto blushed slightly while he grinned.

“Great, now that means one of these last two doors belongs to Gibson,” Nova said.

Antauri closed his eyes again and tried to concentrate.

“I cannot seem to find his energy,” Antauri said. A weary tone had overtaken his voice.

“Are you okay?” Chiro asked.

“Yeah, you don’t look so good, Antauri,” Sprx said.

“I am fine,” Antauri made himself perk up. “Please stay here once again, take care of Chiro.”

“No way, I’m going with you,” Chiro said.

“Me, too,” Nova said.

“Me, three!” Sprx insisted.

“And I make four!” Otto said.

“No, please, we do not want to complicate things,” Antauri started.

“It’s not going to complicate nothing, it didn’t complicate anything when we rescued Otto, did it? Heck, you probably wouldn’t have been able to do it by yourself!” Sprx argued.

Antauri sighed. He wasn’t in the mood to debate. “Very well. Let’s get going.”

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Back on Shuggazoom, dawn was beginning to break and the townspeople were having a very tough time keeping the Formless at bay. They were losing manpower and hope.

“So, where are those moronic monkeys?” a man asked Mr. Gakslapper as he brandished a rake at the Formless.

“They are not moronic. They chased one of those monsters into space. I’m sure they’ll return soon to help. Don’t give up hope just yet,” Mr. Gakslapper said.

“They had better hurry, not sure how much longer hope will work against these guys.”

Mr. Gakslapper glanced up at the dawning sky.

_‘What are you doing, Monkey Team? Where are you?’_


	21. Gibson's Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long-awaited chapter about our simian scientist. So, what is Gibson’s deal? Is he just more susceptible to the monster’s attack? Or is there something deeper there?

The forest was familiar. Gibson could easily remember its paths and smells. The broad leaves of the trees formed a canopy that only allowed enough light to see.

While Nova trained with Master Offay and Antauri was mastering the Power Primate from Master Zan, Gibson was also in study under Dr. Zordona; the most well-known scientist in the universe.

Gibson knelt by a small bed of moss growing beside a tree. He inhaled the earthy scent and couldn’t help but smile. Dr. Zordona often smelled of the moss, as she used its chemical properties in many aspects of her experiments. Dr. Zordona liked finding cures and creating better medical practices, though her knowledge was vast and covered many areas. She taught Gibson just about everything he knew and gave him all his medical know-how, as well as encouraged his natural thirst for knowledge. She was the first person who understood Gibson and helped him make sense of the world. He briefly wondered if she was here and if she would have the answers.

For once, Gibson just wanted someone else to have all the answers.

“Why, hello, Gibson,” Dr. Zordona’s soft voice reached his ears.

“Dr. Zordona,” he stood and turned to smile at her. They shook hands and then Gibson turned her hand over and touched the back of it to his forehead lightly. “Every time I think of you, you become more and more beautiful. I am pleased that my imagination hasn’t disappointed me.”

Dr. Zordona laughed softly. “You have become a bit of the flatterer. Have you bee receiving lessons from your brother, Sprx?”

“Ha, hardly.”

The lady smiled. Dr. Zordona was a creature about four feet tall, her skin had a pale orange tone, her ears were pointed like an elf’s, and she had short, light orange hair.

“Come,” Dr. Zordona crooked a finger and started walking towards her lab and home.

Gibson could have walked there with his eyes closed.

The lab didn’t look any different than it did the day he left to return to Shuggazoom. The wooden panels that shaped the outside of the lab were covered with pale green and violet ivy so it blended in with the forest habitat that surrounded it. Her house stood out with its pale yellow wood, many decorative plants littered the path to the front door, and a small garden full of different herbs and vegetables sat to one side.

Inside the house, the rooms were small and simple. The two scientists went to the kitchen where besides the usual kitchen appliances, there was a shabby wooden table and two stools. On the table sat a black teapot and two matching teacups.

Gibson climbed up on one stool as Dr. Zordona poured the tea.

“So, Gibson, what brings you here?” Dr. Zordona asked.

“I am not sure, actually,” Gibson said.

“Strange that you should not have an answer. Please explain.”

“I believe that is my dilemma, for I cannot explain. For a while now, I feel that the answers are not coming to me as quickly as they used to. I often find myself wondering if any of my calculations and planning is for a purpose, or if they will even work properly. I was in a confrontation with the others and I could not figure a way out or a method of defeating our foe.”

“You always were disturbed upon not being able to find the answers you seek,” Dr. Zordona pushed a full teacup to Gibson. “However, you don’t seem to fall into this state of despair over your issue. You always held some hope than an answer could be found.”

“Alas, I believe that hope is no more,” Gibson sighed and pulled the cup closer so he could gaze into the brown depths. Part of his mind wandered for a moment, mesmerized by the steam that hung just above the tea like fog on a pond.

“As scientists, we are not creatures of faith. The only faith we have is that which we have put into ourselves and sometimes we have faith in others. Perhaps your dilemma lies within the faith you have in yourself.”

Gibson looked up at her. “Have I lost faith in myself? Is that what this is all about?”

Dr. Zordona locked eyes with Gibson. “You still have some emotional issues, do you not?”

“What do you mean?”

“To keep your logical mind free from distraction, perhaps you’ve allowed your emotions to either be stagnated or repressed. Over time, it becomes like a star in space. It has to nova at some time to fulfill the cycle of life and death.”

Gibson was immediately reminded of the yellow monkey and her issue with her temper. He briefly wondered how many times she wanted to just explode and get it over with.

“I know it’s a bad idea, but honestly, there haven’t been many emotions I have been feeling. Sure, I have the proper amount of love for my teammates, granted a hint of contempt for Sprx, but I can’t say I’ve held it all in. I am a creature of logic, after all.”

“However, as logical as you are and as careful your calculations may be made, you still don’t always have the answers.”

“I’ve often found myself wondering if Mandarin was right, that my answers are flawed and incorrect.”

“And how many times have you proved him wrong?”

Gibson blinked. “Can’t argue with that logic now, can I?”

Dr. Zordona smiled as she sipped her tea. “No, I believe that, in and of itself, would be illogical. Now, what are you going to do?”

Gibson took a sip of the tea and its bitter flavor seemed to bring confirmation to his situation.

“I have no idea, granted I don’t even know how I got here.”

“Would you allow me to make a suggestion?”

“Yes, please, by all means,” Gibson tried not to sound too eager, but he was desperate for someone other than himself to have all the answers.

“I believe it’s time you allowed yourself to break free from the chains of your past. You are extremely intelligent, you belong in a place where you can be appreciated and allow you to reach your potential.”

“I do believe that I achieve that on the Super Robot with the Hyper Force. I know my work is appreciated there.”

“Is it?”

Gibson blinked at her. They were silent as she sipped the rest of her tea.

“What do you mean?” Gibson asked when she put her cup down.

“Are you really appreciated? You put up with a lot of flack from your brothers, like Sprx.”

Gibson shrugged. “I can put up with a bit of chiding from him.”

“And Otto?”

“Yes, I have to admit that Otto constantly frustrates me, however it is mainly due to the fact that I know he is being moronic on purpose, he has to be.”

“But the others don’t understand you. Not one of them does.”

“Well, yes, however I can always adjust my vocabulary.”

“Why should you compromise? Why adjust to them when they ought to adjust to you?”

“Well, I suppose I’ve always chalked it up to that being part of a family. I’m sure some of the others have done the same for me.”

“I must be frank with you, Gibson. I still believe you deserve more. Perhaps if you allowed yourself the chance to be what you’re meant to be, your family could follow you.”

Gibson thought about this for a moment. The offer was tempting and he did wonder what sort of promising place Dr. Zordona was speaking of. If they all could benefit from it, then why not?

“Very well, what is it that you suggest?” Gibson said with a sigh.

Dr. Zordona smiled at him. “It is quite simple, my dear Gibson. You join the Skeleton King.”

“What?” Gibson nearly fell off his stool. “Are you out of your mind?”

“I am quite lucid,” Dr. Zordona said calmly. “Gibson, you especially should be able to look at this logically. Skeleton King has the power and ability to give you what you want. He can give you a laboratory where you can study and experiment to your hearts content. Any need or want will be fulfilled, all you would have to do is command it. If you need assistants, he could provide you with beings of intelligence. With his help, Gibson, you could even surpass my abilities.”

“Then why don’t you join him?”

“Alas, but the offer is only open to you, my friend.”

Gibson was struck dumb. The most intelligent being he ever knew had just suggested the most ludicrous thing he ever heard. The logical part of his mind did go through the proposition, oddly enough, and he did start to consider what was being offered.

But Gibson’s heart and mind came to the same conclusion; a partnership with Skeleton King wasn’t a partnership. The self-proclaimed king would manipulate and seduce him into slavery eventually, and even worse, turn him against the rest of the Hyper Force.

Gibson did not want to be pitted against his family or dragged into slavery.

“No, Skeleton King would never be able to give me what I want,” Gibson said sternly. “Perhaps he can offer me all that and more which may tempt me in my never-ending quest for knowledge; however the price would be my eventual slavery and imminent death. Therefore, it is illogical.”

Dr. Zordona looked disappointed. “Are you quite sure about this, Gibson, my friend?”

Suddenly a light went off in Gibson’s head.

“Dr. Zordona, the knowledge of Skeleton King was past the time I spent with you. If you were really my friend, you would know that I would rather die than turn against my team.”

“So be it.”

A nearby window broke and a think ivy vine headed straight for Gibson. The blue simian leaped off the stool with his drills spinning. The vine acted like a snake, swaying side to side, carefully choosing a target before it struck. Gibson dodged, but when he tried to strike the vine would move away, it was like trying to hit water.

After a few minutes, the vine had finally forced Gibson into a position where it could wrap around him like a boa constrictor. Dr. Zordona stood and chuckled at the monkey’s misfortune.

“Gibson, my dear, logical Gibson. You have failed one more to give the correct answer,” she said. “Here you are, doomed to die along with the rest of your precious Hyper Force Team, all because you couldn’t provide the answers that would be the keys to your survival. They depended on you and you failed.”

The words drilled into his mind worse than he supposed he drilled into enemies. The vine was forcing what little air he had left out of him.

“You were wrong, Gibson.”

Somehow, that one simple sentence made something snap inside of Gibson. A flicker of defiance was all he needed to inflame a new will to fight on.

“Perhaps,” he gasped, trying to control how much air escaped his crushed lungs. “But I am willing to remedy the situation.”

He tried to summon the energy to activate his drills, but nothing happened.

Dr. Zordona chuckled again. “However, you can’t.”

An involuntary wave of panic flew through Gibson as the last of his breath was squeezed out of him like juice from an orange. He tries to calculate how long he would survive without oxygen, but the lack of it was already taking effect on his brain’s ability to function.

Though his sight was blurred and darkness began crawling into the edges of his vision, he could still see a pair of light blue claws slice through the vines. He felt himself fall and familiar arms caught him, one set robotic, one set human. Gibson took a gasping breath and he could feel his lungs were burning. This was going to hurt for a while.

“Gibson? You okay?” Otto looked at him worriedly.

“Otto? Chiro?” Gibson said between coughs. “Antauri, how did you find me?”

“Are you all right?” Nova asked, her fingers twitching nervously.

“I’ll survive,” he smiled at them.

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Dr. Zordona said.

The team looked over to where the well-known scientist stood. She was transforming, growing taller, her soft visage turned gray and hard like stone. Her white lab coat and skirt turned to a black cloak that covered her body. Her fingers grew into long, sharp blades.

Gibson shuddered as an unexplainable fear set in.

“You cannot defeat me, Gibson, and deep down in that slimy simian heart of your, you know it,” she growled.

“Don’t listen to that witch,” Sprx said.

“You’re not fighting this battle alone,” Nova said assuredly.

“We’re with you, Gibson, no matter what,” Antauri said.

Gibson stood slowly. He swallowed hard and put a shaky hand on Antauri’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Antauri, but I’m afraid that I do have to defeat this demon on my own.”

Antauri lowered his claws and looked into Gibson’s eyes.

“Antauri, no,” Otto whispered.

“No way, Brainstrain, you ain’t doin’ this alone,” Sprx said.

Everyone was silent as Antauri and Gibson communicated without speaking.

“Are you sure about this?” Antauri asked.

“Yes, I am. This creature must be the embodiment of my own fears and doubts. If I do not conquer it, I may as well be dead. Living in fear is no way for anyone to live.”

Antauri smiled. “Are you saying your faith has been restored?”

Gibson drew in a deep breath only to let out a shuddering sigh. His lungs still hurt.

“Antauri, may we hold a philosophical discussion later?”

“There is no later for you!” the creature growled and reached for them.

“Look out!” Gibson cried, shoving Antauri aside before dodging away. The rest of the team scattered for cover.

“Antauri, are you nuts letting him fight all alone?” Sprx asked, crawling to where Antauri had landed.

Antauri gave him a hard look. “Have you forgotten your own lesson so soon, Sprx?”

Sprx opened his mouth to argue, but then he shut it tight as he glanced over to Gibson.

“We must have faith in him,” Antauri said.

“So, you are going to defeat me all alone, are you Gibson? Ha! I highly doubt that.”

Gibson felt his fur ruffle. He lunged forward, shooting lasers at the creature. When he was close, she swept him aside. He slid into a wall hard enough to crack it.

“Gibson!” Chiro stood and went to help, but Nova caught the edge of his shirt.

“No, Chiro, let him do this on his own,” Nova said.

“How can you guys just sit here?” Chiro asked as Gibson launched another attack.

“It’s no easier on us, trust me,” Nova said, gritting her teeth slightly at the thought.

“I trust Gibson, he’ll be fine, he always knows best,” Otto said with a smile. “He is the genius after all.”

“Okay,” Chiro said uneasily, sinking back into their hiding spot. “I just hope he’s making the right decision, as well as us.”

Gibson was thrown aside again. The monster chuckled evilly.

“I am part of you, Gibson. I know all your moves and tactics. I repeat; you cannot defeat me.”

Gibson tried again. He changed weapons, tried to modify his patterns, and make changes on the fly in the heat of battle. Antauri, as well as the rest of the team, watched nervously as he was, again and again, thrown aside like a rag doll.

Another attempt was thwarted and this time Gibson was thrown to where Antauri and Sprx were huddled. They both moved to help the blue monkey back onto his feet.

“Gibson, this is all in your mind,” Antauri told him. “I believe you need to change your mode of attack.”

“But, how? That is what I have been doing,” Gibson said.

“I believe you can find that answer on your own easily enough,” Antauri said. He put both of his hands on Gibson’s shoulders so he could look him square in the eye. “Don’t forget, we have faith in you.”

Gibson blinked as the words set in his mind. That was one thing he could never get from Skeleton King no matter what he did or how right he would be; the faith and friendship of his team and his family.

Sprx looked between them, wondering what was going on.

Gibson suddenly smiled. “I know what to do.”

Antauri smiled back. “I had faith that you would find your way once more.”

Gibson turned to face the monster with a smirk firmly planted across his mouth. He deactivated his drills and folded his arms across his chest.

“And what are you looking so smug about?” The creature demanded.

“I know how to defeat you,” Gibson said calmly.

“You cannot defeat me,” the creature chuckled. “I know every move you have or could make. Look at the logistics and calculate the outcomes; it is impossible to beat me, it is illogical.”

“No, you are the one who is illogical,” Gibson said, still smirking.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You are an illogical creation of my own imagination, not too unlike an imaginary number, therefore, you cannot control me. Your attempt to sway my faith is irrational, since I will never lose it as long as the others have faith in me.”

“Whoo! You tell that witch, Gibson!” Nova whooped.

The creature’s eyes twitched. “You can always be swayed.”

Gibson’s smirk disappeared. It was replaced with a hard, stern look. The creature reared back with a roar and went to strike to defiant monkey. However, her blades stopped inches from his head.

“No, I cannot,” Gibson said calmly.

With another angry roar, she tried striking him the same way, but in the same way, again, her blades stopped inches from her target. But this time, as if there was a strong, invisible shield protecting him, the blades shattered.

The creature howled in pain. She looked down at herself as bits and pieces began chipping away from her. She tried reaching for Gibson again, but she was too weak for one last attack.

“I am right this time,” Gibson said, walking towards where the creature was sinking into the ground.

“You vile primate, I will destroy you all eventually!” the voice of the Skeleton King was the last they heard from the creature as the rest of the pieces finally shattered and melted into the ground.

Gibson sighed deeply, his head hung down, his eyes closed. The rest of the team came out of their hiding spots and gathered around him.

“Hey, Big Brain, you okay?” Sprx asked softly.

“Yes, I believe I’ll be fine,” he looked up at them, then looked around. “Where are we and where did you all come from? I thought I was back on Sundadron.”

“The Formless Monster trapped us in our own minds,” Nova said. “It’s been using our insecurities against us.”

“But Antauri’s saved us all!” Otto exclaimed with a grin.

“You give me too much credit, my friend. I have but shown you the paths, you were the ones who had to walk it,” Antauri said.

“You’ve always been the healer, Antauri,” Nova said.

“We must return to the mental plain so we may be awakened,” Antauri said, ignoring Nova’s comment for the moment.

“Are you okay?” You don’t look so good,” Chiro said. He was obviously concerned.

“I will be all right. Let’s get going.”

Gibson followed everyone’s lead and closed his eyes, joining hands with Otto and Sprx. He ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach, but it was becoming more difficult to ignore the dull pain that grew in his head. He felt himself falling, but Otto’s hand gripped his arm so he only fell on his knees.

“Oh,” Gibson groaned.

“Watch that first step,” Sprx mumbled. “Don’t worry too much about it. The feeling goes away after a minute or two.”

“Indeed,” Gibson said as he rose to his feet, nodding his thanks to Otto.

“Now what?” Chiro asked. He folded his hands behind his head and looked at the doors. “What are these doors anyway?”

“Those were the doorways to your own minds,” Antauri explained. “I assume there has been a part of your minds that wanted help, so therefore doorways were made. That is the most simplistic answer I can think of.”

Gibson frowned. He didn’t like the way Antauri was acting. He seemed exhausted and even talking seemed to drain the energy out of him. Gibson may not be a practitioner of the Power Primate, like the black monkey and Chiro, but he could still sense its energy and presence. Antauri was always such a strong presence, but now that energy seemed almost depleted.

On top of that, Antauri only gave simplistic answers when he was exhausted.

“So, how do we wake up and get out of this nightmare?” Nova asked.

“That answer should be apparent to you,” Antauri said. Everyone was now watching him as he swayed slightly on his feet. “You’re a meditation practitioner, now all you must do now is wake up.”

“How do we do that?” Otto asked.

“The same way you wake up from any nightmare,” Nova said.

The yellow monkey shut her eyes tight and told herself to wake up. Slowly, she started to disappear.

“Nova!” Sprx cried. “Where did she go?”

“Relax, Sprx, she has awoken herself. If she meditates, she’ll find her way back, but that is a moot point now,” Antauri said.

“Oooh, I think I get it,” Otto said. He, too, closed his eyes tight, screaming at himself in his mind to wake up, much like when he did when he had nightmares about the old days.

Otto, too, slowly disappeared.

Gibson looked nervous. “Are you sure they have woken up?”

“I hope so,” Sprx said.

The red and blue monkey followed the lead of their teammates, closing their eyes and telling themselves to wake up.

“Hurry, Chiro, you too,” Antauri said as the other two disappeared.

“And you?” Chiro asked.

“I’ll be right behind you.”

Chiro closed his eyes and began waking himself up. As he felt something stir, he opened one eyes slightly only to see Antauri collapse.

“Antauri!”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

An alarm sounded in the Skeleton King’s chambers.

“Sakko, what is going on?” Skeleton King bellowed.

The tiny monkey scampered to his throne. “It seems there has been a problem transporting the monkeys, my king,” he explained.

“Why is there a problem?” Skeleton King’s claws squeezed the arms of his throne impatiently.

“With all due respect, my king, I did not create the Formless Monster, I do not have any idea what is wrong with it.”

“Are you saying this is my fault?” Skeleton King rose to his feet. “I hope this android of yours is up to the challenge, then. When will it be ready?”

Sakko had experienced a moment of panic, positive that Skeleton King was going to murder him on the spot.

“Y-y-yes, my liege, uhm, the android will be prepared soon; it is going much quicker than I had anticipated.”

“Time, I want a time frame, Sakko.”

“A week, perhaps? Maybe two? I originally calculated a month.”

“Work faster, I want it done now. Your plan had better be good.”

“Yes, my king.”

Sakko turned to scamper back to his lab.

“Oh, and Sakko?”

Sakko’s heart stopped along with the rest of his body. He screamed out in pain, Skeleton King had used the power of his staff to punish the mini-simian.

“Now get out of my sight. If you ever make that kind of mistake again, I will do worse,” Skeleton King promised.

Even before his body stopped twitching in pain, Sakko was crawling away. The only reason Sakko put up with any of this was because he knew no other way of life. Little did Gibson ever truly know that if he had surrendered and succumbed to the offer to join the other side, that it was the life he was setting himself up for.


	22. Hyper Force, We Have a Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, the team seems to have gotten itself into trouble again…what are they gonna do?

“Antauri!” Chiro sat up quickly and banged his head on a plexiglass surface. “What in Shuggazoom-?”

“Hang on, Chiro,” Otto said. He was on the other side of Chiro’s prison tube. He activated his saw and cut him out.

“Thanks,” Chiro said.

Otto smiled and went to help get Gibson free while Sprx got Nova out. Chiro looked to where the black monkey still appeared to be sleeping.

“Antauri, wake up,” Chiro said, knocking on the tube. There was no way he was going to break it.

“Look out, Chiro,” Gibson said calmly. He carefully drilled into the tube until it finally opened.

Chiro came forward to pull Antauri out. He laid him down on the ground as the others gathered around.

“Is he-” Nova started, but she couldn’t make herself finish the question.

“No, Nova, he’s alive,” Gibson assured her. “However, he doesn’t seem to be able to wake from his unconscious state.”

“But, why? He was there with us, wasn’t he? Or was that our imaginations, too?” Otto asked.

“I saw him collapse before I woke up,” Chiro said. “Do you think maybe he’s still stuck?”

“If he is, he’s probably in trouble,” Sprx said. “Anyone have any ideas?”

“I’ll go in after him, you guys figure out a way to get back home,” Chiro said.

“Wait, Chiro, we have to think this through,” Gibson said. “We certainly are not leaving both of you here.”

“And I don’t think we could carry both of you at the same time,” Nova said.

“Not without banging your head around and such, though in your case it might be an improvement.” Sprx said with a smirk.

“Oh, ha, ha, ha,” Chiro said.

Nova punched Sprx in the shoulder.

“Enough please,” Gibson said. “We need a plan and fast, before our captors decided to come in to check on us.”

They all looked around. The room wasn’t much; the six tubes, red metal walls, and a door with no handles and no visible opening device.

“I believe I have a plan,” Gibson said slowly. “However, I’m not sure it will work or how far we can take it, my calculations haven’t been up to par.”

“Knock it off, after that display of fighting against that huge black thing in your head, you can do anything,” Sprx said.

Gibson gave him a strange stare as Sprx gave him a thumbs up. It made Gibson smile.

“So, what’s the plan?” Nova asked.

“All right, we figure out how to open the door and then lock Antauri and Chiro in,” Gibson went over to the door to examine it. “It appears to be a computerized lock. I’m sure with Otto’s help we can figure out a way to not only open the door but lock it with our own code so our enemies can’t harm them while they’re indisposed.”

“And once we’re out, we can figure out where we are, where the Super Robot is, and go home,” Nova said.

“Pretty much,” Gibson confirmed.

“It sounds like a solid plan, Gibson,” Chiro said with a grin. “Let’s get moving, team.”

Otto and Gibson went over to the door and started trying to figure out how to get it open. Chiro assumed a meditative position next to Antauri and began his own quest. Sprx looked around, feeling a bit helpless and useless, until he caught sight of Nova pacing.

“Are you nervous or something?” Sprx asked.

“No.”

“So, what do we do, anyways?”

“Get ready, I guess,” Nova stopped pacing and faced Sprx while she ground a fist into her palm. “I don’t know about you, but a soon as that door opens I’ll be giving whoever or whatever’s on the other side a piece of my mind.”

Sprx nodded and went to stand next to her.

“With ya all the way,” he gave her a wink.

Nova smiled at him.

‘ _Boy, she’s beautiful when she smiles,'_ Sprx thought to himself.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Chiro wasn’t quite sure what he was doing. He could feel Antauri’s aura, however he couldn’t figure out how to follow it.

“Wait a sec,” he muttered to himself. “What about the doors?”

He concentrated on finding the six white doors on the mental plain. After a moment, he opened one eye and saw that he was back on the same spot he woke up from his mental nightmare, but instead of six doors, there were only two.

“So this must be mine and Antauri’s,” Chiro’s eyes widened slightly as understanding seeped into his mind. “So that’s why none of their doors disappeared, your door appears on the mental plain so you and others can access it, or at least find it. Now, which door is which?”

He shifted his eyes from one door to the next, holding an inner debate. Then Chiro closed his eyes again. He could feel Antauri was behind the left door.

“That’s got to be it,” Chiro said.

He grabbed onto the doorknob and took a deep, hopeful breath before turning it.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

“How’s it going, guys?” Nova asked.

“Almost,” Otto murmured, the tip of his tongue was sticking out the corner of his mouth.

Gibson and Otto had peeled away one of the metal panels and were working hard on rewiring the door. Nova had continued pacing while Sprx sat and stared at Chiro and Antauri.

“It’s creepy,” Sprx muttered.

“Huh?” Nova’s ears almost missed Sprx’s mutter.

“I said, it’s creepy,” he repeated.

“What’s creepy?”

“They’re so still,” Sprx gestured towards their leader and second in command. “Chiro’s eyelids aren’t even twitching like they do when he’s asleep.”

“Well, you know he’s not really in a dream state, right?” Nova asked, squatting down next to Sprx. “He’s in control; all of his energy and attention is being directed to one cause.”

Sprx shook his head. “I still don’t get the whole meditation thing. I mean, I understand the principles and stuff, but I just can’t do it.”

Nova scoffed. “That’s because you have the attention span of a dust bunny.”

Sprx smirked. “Careful, you might be complimenting me. Have you ever seen the dust bunnies in Otto’s room?”

Nova couldn’t stop herself from smiling. Sprx grinned back.

There was a crackle of electricity, a small yelp of pain from Otto, and a slight smell of burning wires.

“Are you all right?” Gibson asked.

Otto nodded, his fingers stuck in his mouth.

“Come on, let me see,” Gibson tried to pull Otto’s fingers out of his mouth.

“Nu-oooo,” Otto mumbled between his fingers.

“Come on, now, don’t be childish.”

Otto pouted and let Gibson examine his burned fingers. Sprx and Nova looked over with some concern.

“You’ll be okay, just be careful,” Gibson said.

Otto nodded and sniffled. “Will you kiss them and make it better?”

Gibson glared as Otto grinned. Gibson pushed Otto.

“Just change the code, please,” Gibson said with a tolerant sigh.

Otto giggled and returned to the wires.

“And this is the guy with the super-protective mental walls?” Sprx muttered to Nova.

“Let it go, Sprx,” she whispered back.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Chiro walked carefully, his knees were bent, his arms held out slightly for balance, his fingers were twitching and waiting for an attack.

He had found himself on a beach. The soft, white sand was illuminated by the light form a full moon, and the water lapped on the shore gently like a lake instead of crashing like an ocean.

“I don’t like this,” Chiro murmured softly. “I don’t like it one bit, where’s Antauri?”

“I’m right here, Chiro.”

Chiro almost tripped over the monkey. He stared down at him and wondered why he was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest rather than cross-legged and floating, like usual.

“Hey, what’s up?” Chiro asked. He sat down next to Antauri, his own feet stretched out before him.

“I do not understand.”

“Why the long face?” Chiro looked concerned. “What’s bothering you?”

“I must confess, Chiro, I have been at quite a loss, as of late,” Antauri sighed. “I’ve always been the healer; I’ve always helped the others through their problems. Now it looks like everyone’s able to heal themselves. I’ve become useless and disposable.”

Chiro gave Antauri a look as if he was slapped in the face. “Antauri, you’ve got to be kidding.”

“I assure you I am not. I give up, Chiro, you’re to lead the team now, and I am to fade in the darkness.”

“No way, Antauri, what’s gotten into you?” Chiro grabbed Antauri by the shoulders and forced him to look into his face. “Antauri, I don’t really know what’s happened with most of the others, but I do know what happened to me. I was dying, Antauri, I was the one giving in, and I was the one actually listening to that doubting monster in my head. The others and I didn’t give up because we saw that you didn’t. Come on, Antauri; don’t let that moron Skeleton King get to you, please?”

Chiro forced a smile, even though he was worried and he desperately wished he could read the blank look on Antauri’s face.

“I suppose that is my greatest fear; becoming useless and being forgotten,” Antauri said quietly, turning away from Chiro again.

But suddenly, Antauri shoved Chiro back and leaped to his feet. Chiro looked up, disbelief overtook his face.

“I’m always saving others lives, but did anyone think to save me? Never. I get hurt, too, I have my own mental demons,” Antauri growled.

“What do you think I’m here for, Antauri?” Chiro asked angrily as he got to his feet. “I’m here because I was worried about you! I don’t want to see you get hurt, just like you don’t want to see me hurt, either.”

Antauri moved quick and sudden again, planting a flying sidekick at Chiro’s chest. Chiro sailed through the air and landed hard on his side. He looked up to find a disturbing grin on Antauri’s usually neutral face.

“Maybe now is the time to see you when you do get hurt,” he said.

“No,” Chiro got to his feet again. “I don’t want to fight you Antauri.”

“You have no choice, boy.”

Chiro tilted his head at the odd voice that came from the black monkey. It definitely wasn’t Antauri and it only took Chiro another moment to figure out whose it was.

“No,” Chiro whispered, his heart beginning to fill with despair.

Antauri chuckled, activated the pale blue claws, and curled them at Chiro.

“You may not want to fight me, boy, but it appears that you will have no choice.”


	23. The Hero and the Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chiro and Antauri have a confrontation, and so does the rest of the team.

Both Sprx and Nova were now pacing, ready for whatever lay beyond the door that was imprisoning them.

“Almost there,” Gibson murmured.

There was a click, and the door slid open.

“Got it!” Otto exclaimed.

Sprx and Nova advanced with their hands up. They were a bit surprised to find that there were no guards, but stayed alert all the same while Otto and Gibson shut the door and reset the code to open it. They strained their eyes to look down the other three dark hallways.

“So, what’s the plan now?” Sprx asked.

“We find out where this ship is going. I’ll need to gain access to a control room,” Gibson said.

“Done,” Otto said. “The new code is set, there’s no way that anyone is breaking into here.”

“Nice work, Otto,” Nova said, giving him a thumbs up.

Suddenly an alarm went off and the lights turned red. The monkeys exchanged uneasy glances.

“I believe the control room is this way,” Gibson said, pointing to the right.

“Sprx and I will stay here and guard the door, just in case,” Otto volunteered.

“I’ll go with you to keep any guards off your back while you’re turning this tin can around,” Nova said. “Let’s move!”

The blue and yellow monkey disappeared.

“I’d think there would be more guards around the control room. Do you think they’ll need your help? I can stand guard here,” Sprx said.

“Nah, Gibson can handle the computer and Nova can take care of any guards. Besides, I didn’t want to leave you alone,” Otto said.

Sprx chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

What Sprx didn’t say was that he was concerned about Nova. He also didn’t know that Otto was studying the look on his face.

“Don’t worry about Nova,” Otto said, giving Sprx a reassuring pat on his shoulder.

“Who said I was worried?” Sprx said quieter than he meant to.

Otto grinned. “You don’t have to. You and me are a lot alike.”

“Heh, whatever you say.”

There was rustling coming from the halls that caught their attention.

“Formless,” Sprx murmured.

“Where are they coming from?” Otto asked, his eyes darted from one hall to the next.

“I dunno, down these two halls I guess, maybe,” Sprx said. “That door is secure, right?”

“Yep.”

“By the way, what is the password?”

“Bananas.”

“Bananas?”

“Yeah.”

“What? Why? We don’t eat bananas.”

“Exactly.”

Sprx sighed. “You are one weird monkey Otto.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

“Claw Disruptor!”

Chiro dodged, sidestepping the attack at the right moment. He was really becoming afraid now. Sure he had trained with Antauri, but not even close to how many times he had sparred with Sprx and Nova.

He also never expected to ever get into an all-out fight with him.

Chiro suddenly found himself desperately trying to remember what he had been taught about ground fighting. He knew he couldn’t let Antauri get on top of him or get control of any of his joints. He wondered if the same thoughts were going through Antauri’s mind as they both fell.

As soon as they hit the ground, Chiro straddled Antauri’s waist and locked ankles with him so he couldn’t use his legs. Antauri struggled and didn’t let Chiro grab his arms so easily, but Chiro eventually succeeded, trapping Antauri’s hands under his arms and leaning his forearms just below his shoulders.

“Antauri, listen to me because I know you can hear me,” Chiro said, looking Antauri straight in the eye. “You’ve got to fight this, I don’t know how to do what you do and I’m not going to lose you.”

“You’re too late, boy, Antauri is lost,” Skeleton King’s voice came from Antauri’s mouth as he smiled. “Your monkey is mine.”

“No, I’m not going to give up on him that easily!” Chiro growled. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to cry, but he wasn’t succeeding. He rested his forehead on Antauri’s, despite him shaking his head back and forth. Chiro continued to hold him down and cried.

‘ _Chiro, don’t speak, just listen.’_

Chiro kept himself from gasping by biting his lower lip. Antauri was using telepathy to speak to him! He was all right!

‘ _I cannot fight the Skeleton King,’_ Antauri continued. ‘ _I don’t have anymore power or energy. You may have to let me go.’_

“Never,” Chiro growled out between clenched teeth and tears.

‘ _If you do not, Chiro, the team will lose us both.’_

“No one is losing anyone! You may not have any power, but I do!”

Chiro let go of Antauri’s arms and put his hands on the side of his head. Closing his eyes tight again, he concentrated on giving his own energy to save Antauri.

‘ _Chiro,’_ Antauri’s voice sighed. ‘ _You can’t-’_

‘ _I won’t know until I try.’_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Nova and Gibson had found the control room quicker than they had anticipated and without running into any guards. Once in the control room, Gibson found out that they were on a spaceship heading for unknown coordinates. The Super Robot was still in tact and imprisoned in another part of the ship.

“I can try to change the course,” Gibson said, looking over the controls. “This computer system is almost primitive in its simplicity.”

Nova shuddered. “I don’t know if that’s assuring or not. This is all too easy, it doesn’t feel right.”

“There they are, they’re in the control room,” a metallic voice said.

“Uh oh,” Nova said. “Gibson, figure out how to get us home or get us out of here.”

“Look out!” Gibson cried.

Nova didn’t realize how close the guards were. Two pairs of arms grabbed her and pulled her through the doorway.

“No!” Gibson reached for her but the door slammed shut and wouldn’t open.

Gibson steeled himself and went back to the control panel to let his fingers fly.

Nova struggled with the two guards who grabbed her. They dragged her down the hall, Nova was aware of a guard coming up behind them and they were stopped by a guard in their path.

“Report,” the guard behind Nova growled. Apparently he was the leader.

“There are two of them loose, the prison cell is locked, and the codes were changed,” the other guard reported.

“Disable the two on the loose as well as the one in the control room.”

“The only one doing any disabling is me!” Nova cried.

She bent her knees, took a small step back and drove her fists into the groins of the guards holding her. She rushed forward with a cry and aimed a flying front kick at the other guards chest. She turned and the guard giving out orders went to hit her in the head. She blocked the strike and knocked him into the wall. A glance over her shoulder told her that two of the guards were back on their feet.

“Flying Fists of Fury!” Nova cried.

There were no less than fifty strikes thrown in the next fifteen seconds. There were two thumps as two bodies hit the ground.

And Nova wasn’t one of them.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Chiro continued to concentrate on willing his energy into Antauri. He was beginning to doubt it would work when he felt some of his energy drain from him.

“No,” Skeleton King growled, using Antauri’s voice and then tried using his body to throw Chiro off.

Chiro held on tight, now set in his task. They both struggled for a few more moments until Antauri began to scream.

“Antauri!” Chiro cried, now worried about what was happening.

“Chiro, let go!” Antauri forced out in his own voice and shoved Chiro away.

Chiro rolled back and did little more then grip the sand. He felt exhausted, but most of all he felt defeated. He watched, feeling helpless, as Antauri continued to scream and tear at his head.

“Antauri, what’s going on?” Chiro muttered, reaching a hand towards him, wanting to help.

Antauri continued to struggle, but then suddenly a black cloud burst from his chest. He collapsed, breathing hard, but he kept his eyes on the ball. He bared his teeth and lifted a hand holding a ball of glowing, yellow energy. He released the energy and the yellow ball erased the black cloud, they both could hear a faint hiss of disdain as it disappeared.

“Chiro,” Antauri murmured, crawling over to him.

“Hey, you okay?” Chiro asked.

Antauri helped Chiro sit up on his knees.

“I am fine. I have to say, Chiro, what you did was completely reckless.”

“I wasn’t going to lose you, Antauri.”

Antauri smiled up at him. “Chiro, you are my savior.”

Chiro smiled back and pulled Antauri in for a tight hug. “Even healers need to be saved, huh?”

“Yes,” Antauri pulled away slightly. “Now, let’s go and help the others.”

Chiro nodded and they both closed their eyes. Concentrating with all their strength, they focused on getting back to the real world.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Otto swung semi-wildly, he was becoming overwhelmed by the number of Formless. His and Sprx’s advantage was that they were in a fairly small space and could keep the fight somewhat contained. Their disadvantage was that there were three halls that the Formless were starting to pour from.

“How much longer do you think we gotta keep this up, Sprx?” Otto asked, trying to keep a crowd of six Formless at bay.

“Until Big Brain can think of something,” Sprx replied, trying to keep a force field up against one hall with one hand as he beat back more Formless with the other.

“It looks as if you two could use some help.”

“Antauri!” Sprx cried with a relieved smile.

“And Chiro! You guys are all right!” Otto exclaimed.

Ten minutes later, the hallway was clear aside from a few puddles of ooze.

“Whew, thanks you guys,” Sprx said as he leaned against a wall.

“Where’s Gibson and Nova?” Chiro asked.

“They went off looking for the control room, I don’t think I remember which way they went.”

“Have you tried communicating with them?” Antauri asked.

“Nah, our signals are all jammed, nothing’s getting through,” Otto said.

“I see.”

“Antauri, you and Otto go look for the others, Sprx and I will try finding the Super Robot,” Chiro said.

“Let’s go, Otto,” Antauri said.

“I think they went to the right,” Otto said.

Soon, the two had disappeared.

“Let’s get moving ourselves, Sprx.”

“You got it, kid.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

It didn’t take Antauri and Otto long to find Gibson and Nova. They had found Nova first; she was battling more guards. She led them to the control room and Otto opened the door. Gibson was visibly relieved to see it was them.

“What have you found so far, Gibson?” Antauri asked.

“We are heading for uncharted coordinates. There’s something jamming our communication signatures and I cannot figure out the cause of it. I am also having trouble finding the Super Robot, I certainly can take a guess, but the power signatures on this ship fluctuate at such an irate pattern that it’s almost futile to figure them out,” Gibson explained.

Antauri looked over the controls and monitors, making sure Gibson didn’t miss or overlook anything. However, as usual, the scientist was flawless in his research.

“Does the ship have a self-destruct sequence?” Antauri asked.

“I think so,” Gibson gave him an uneasy glance. “What are you thinking?”

“We have to switch,” Antauri turned to Nova. “Take Otto, rejoin Chiro and Sprx and try to find the Super Robot.”

“Got it,” Nova said. She and Otto took off.

“What are you thinking?” Gibson asked again as Antauri turned back to the controls.

“We’re going home.”


	24. The Great Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The monkey team is going home whether they are whole or in pieces, whether they like it or not.

Chiro and Sprx had wandered the halls with their hands up, muscles tense, and ready for anything.

“What do you suppose happened to the Formless Monster?” Sprx asked quietly.

“I have no idea,” Chiro murmured, looking over his shoulder. “I hope it’s not still in the Super Robot.”

“Yeah, if it is, I am not cleaning it up.”

“Ha, like Antauri would let us get away with that.”

“Three days chores says Gibson will find a way to weasel out of it.”

Chiro smirked. “So you’re a gambling monkey. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

“What’s that?”

They both stopped moving. Sprx heard the shuffling sound again.

“Uh oh,” the red monkey muttered.

“What?” Chiro could hear it too, but he didn’t have the same fight with the Formless that Sprx did and therefore not as worried.

“Formless,” Sprx murmured.

“Hold you ground,” Chiro ordered, clenching his fists.

The shuffling stopped. Whispers were heard, but they were unintelligible.

Chiro tapped Sprx on the shoulder and pointed in the direction of the whispers. They started to walk towards them and then they stopped when the whispers stopped.

“Do you think they heard us?” Chiro whispered.

“How am I supposed to know?”

“Well, they stopped talking.”

The shuffling began again. Chiro and Sprx walked again, too. They reached a corner, reached an understanding with a glance, readied their weapons, and let out battle cries as they jumped out to attack.

In retrospect, funny as it was, it was not the best idea. They had jumped, literally, into Nova and Otto.

After they separated themselves and got to their feet, Nova explained their orders.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Otto said, looking very uneasy.

“You don’t really think-” Sprx started.

“I’d do it,” Chiro muttered. “Let’s get going.”

They moved down the halls as fast as they could.

“How big do you suppose this ship is, anyway?” Sprx asked.

“Seems pretty big,” Otto said.

They turned a corner and alongside the hall they could see a rainbow of colored light coming from a doorway. Chiro held up a hand to signal them to go slowly. The four tiptoed towards the door. When they approached it, Chiro slowly peeked inside.

There wasn’t much to the room. Just a plain space for the most part; in fact, the only thing inside was a large pedestal sprinkled with flashing, colored lights and buttons. The object that was causing the iridescent glow was the sphere floating inches above the pedestal.

“Whoa,” Chiro breathed, relaxing his posture.

“What is it?” Nova asked, trying to peek around Chiro.

“Probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen,” Chiro led the three of them inside. “I never saw anything like I in my life.”

“Me neither,” Nova said.

Otto had already walked around the object, then he reached out to touch it. It sent a strange vibrating sensation through his hand. He pulled back quickly with a wince.

“You okay?” Chiro asked.

“Yeah, just feel numb,” Otto shook out his hand, staring at the sphere with a look that crossed study with contempt. “It’s definitely some kind of energy field, but for what?”

“Maybe it’s what’s jamming our com signals?” Sprx suggested.

“I say we pound it to pieces,” Nova said.

“Nova, is there anything you don’t want to pound into pieces?” Chiro asked.

“Hmm, nope,” she gave him a sheepish grin.

Otto and Sprx began looking around the pedestal. There didn’t seem to be any way to turn the machine off.

“So, what do you think we should do?” Sprx asked.

“I dunno, I guess Nova’s right,” Otto said, “or maybe a magnetic field?”

“Worth a shot.”

Sprx threw a magnetic ball at the sphere. It sparked and crackled, then the colors faded and the sphere was gone.

“Antauri, Gibson, come in,” Chiro said.

“Chiro? But how did you-?” Gibson started.

“We found the source of the interference. What are you two doing?” Chiro asked.

“Did you find the Super Robot?”

“No.”

“Better find it quick, we’ll follow your signal.”

Chiro and the others didn’t like the tone of Gibson’s voice and began to move.

“What’s the hurry, Big Brain?” Sprx asked.

The lights turned from red to blue and a klaxon alarm sounded this time. Gibson’s voice provided the answer.

“Antauri has started the self-destruct sequence.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“What is going on up there?” Skeleton King wondered as he watched the image of the prison ship that was supposed to be transporting the Hyper Force. He had noticed the ship had slowed and it was thrown off course.

“I want some answers!” Skeleton King growled.

But there was nothing but a few cowering Formless and a silent TV Monster.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“Is he out of his primate mind?” Sprx screeched as the four tore through the halls as fast as they could.

“We’d run a lot faster if you shut up,” Nova said.

“Seriously! I mean, really, I’d hate to fight Antauri because he is just plain crazy sometimes!”

While Sprx and Nova continued to banter, Otto was adjusting his audio receptor.

“What’re you doing?” Chiro asked.

“Following the Super Robot’s power signature, now that our receptors work. Even though the Super Robot isn’t active, a signal is always emitting from it,” Otto explained. “We’re almost there.”

They rounded another corner, and found a dead end. They went back and turned another corner and found a barred gate blocking their path. They could see the Super Robot inside; it was in a sitting position, its arms and head dangled forward as if it had fallen asleep. It was still covered in slime from the Formless Monster and it was beginning to turn green.

“How do we get in?” Chiro wondered.

A whirring pairs of saws, some sparks and metallic clinks answered Chiro’s question.

“Come on!” Otto said.

“Antauri, Gibson, where are you two?” Chiro asked through the communicator.

“We should still be another minute, we’re having some difficulty traveling though the corridors,” Gibson said

“How much time before this thing blows?”

“Approximately two minutes.”

“Where are you and the others?” Antauri asked.

“We’re heading into the Super Robot now and we’ll start powering up immediately. You two just hurry.”

“Roger, Chiro.”

Once Chiro, Sprx, Otto, and Nova were inside, they wasted no time. Within seconds the robot was powering up and everyone was in position and ready to go.

“Where are they?” Nova asked nervously.

“I don’t know,” Chiro said, also feeling uneasy. “Antauri, Gibson, report.”

“They only have a minute left,” Sprx said, his voice teetering on the edge of panic.

“Almost there,” Antauri said.

“Opening Foot Crusher hatch,” Nova reported.

“Warming up thrusters,” Otto said.

“Activating visuals,” Chiro said.

He could see Gibson and Antauri racing into the holding cell.

“There it is,” Gibson said.

Even though they were exhausted, their servos overworked, their gears and lungs burning, they kept going. Gibson’s right leg gave out and made him fall.

“Gibson!” Antauri went back and helped him up. “If you say anything about you slowing me down and leaving you behind-”

Antauri left it at that and Gibson’s open mouth snapped shut, then he smiled.

“Might be leftover goop from that creature,” Gibson said, doing whatever he could to help them move faster.

“No matter, almost there,” Antauri assured him.

They both gave grunts of effort as they finally made it inside the robot and the door shut behind them with thirty seconds to spare.

“Get us out of here!” Antauri said as he and Gibson continued up to their posts.

“Powering all thrusters to maximum!” Otto said.

The Super Robot’s arms pointed up, the thrusters fired, pushing the Super Robot and the Hyper Force through the roof of the prison. The robot shook as they launched into space.

“Five, four, three, two, one, brace yourselves!” Gibson warned.

The prison ship exploded in a bright blaze of fire. The force from the blast pushed them further into space. They turned and watched the debris scatter in a thousand directions. A piece that whizzed by them was covered in more black ooze.

“I guess that’s the end of the Formless Monster,” Chiro said with a relieved sigh.

“We should still check the Super Robot, the guards on the prison ship knew we were breaking out,” Gibson suggested.

“Yeah, I agree. Sprx and Otto, set a course for Shuggazoom. Then we all split up and search the robot. Meet back in the command center in twenty minutes,” Chiro ordered.

The robot turned towards Shuggazoom and was on its way. What the Hyper Force didn’t see was the white, triangular ship lurking between the rocks in a nearby asteroid field.


	25. Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hyper Force returns home and their lives begin.

The Skeleton King emitted a low growl of frustration as he watched the departing Super Robot.

“Get me Sakko,” Skeleton King grumbled to the Formless servant.

A few moments later, Sakko was bowing before him.

“Yes, my king?” Sakko said.

“You better have that silly android repaired by now,” Skeleton King said, narrowing his eyes.

“Yes, I have her programmed with the proper specifications.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Get down there and fulfill your mission!”

Sakko squeaked in compliance and scampered away. Skeleton King looked back at the image of the Super Robot making its way back home to Shuggazoom.

“If I couldn’t go through his mind, might as well try going though his heart,” Skeleton King muttered.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The battle of the abandoned section of Shuggazoom wasn’t going so well. Almost everyone had been subdued or taken prisoner. Mr. Gakslapper had been one of them.

“What do we do now?” a woman whispered.

They were huddled in an alleyway. The Formless guarded them with weapons that looked as if they were made of bone.

“I don’t know, but I’ll think of something,” Mr. Gakslapper said, glancing around. He already had a gash in his arm when he leaped at a chance for freedom. He didn’t want to admit it, but now he was beginning to doubt the return on the Hyper Force. Had they been defeated up in space? Or did they really leave?

He looked up to the sky, hoping to see something to prove him wrong, but there was nothing. Mr. Gakslapper sighed and cast his eyes downwards. He never would have imagined that he would ever be involved in an attack on his planet and be left huddling in an alleyway with his fellow Shuggazoomians.

The ground suddenly shook, making everyone look up and gasp in shock as the Super Robot settled itself on the ground. The crowd cheered as their hope was restored and the guards scrambled to keep control.

“They have hostages,” Otto reported. “What’s the plan?”

“What else is going on? What about the police?” Chiro asked,

“I’m detecting their forces surrounding the sector, they seem to be keeping the Formless from entering the remainder of the city,” Gibson said.

“Which is just as well,” Antauri said.

“All right, team, let’s go down there and free the people,” Chiro said. “Hyper Force, go!”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

On the outskirts of the quadrant, the officers held their ground as did the Formless they were confronting. There was no battle between these groups aside from a few scuffles. The Formless simply stood side by side, forming a barrier, and didn’t move. The only confrontations came when an officer tried to break through. The police chief decided that as long as they weren’t going to invade the rest of Shuggazoom, this was the only thing that they could do.

So that was how it had been for hours. The barrier of Formless never moved, and a barrier of police officers did the same along with firefighters and other volunteers. The Shuggazoom police force wasn’t very large, and in cases like this they depended on volunteers from the fire and sanitation departments, people such as Gyrus Krinkle.

Suddenly, the heads of the Formless had snapped up to attention as if they had been called. The Shuggazoom barrier watched in guarded amazement as the Formless turned and uniformly walked back into the abandoned quadrant.

“What do we do, chief?” a rookie officer asked in a slightly shaking voice.

“I, I, uh,” the police chief scratched his head. “Okay, we follow them, but carefully. Stay alert for any attacks. Officers, take the front, volunteers to the back, we must move cautiously and avoid any casualties. Let’s move out, people!”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

“Magna-Tingler Blast!”

Three Formless were knocked back.

“Scritch-Scratch Doom Thrower!”

Four more Formless lost various limbs.

“Boom Boom Wake Up!”

A group of five was reduced to puddles.

“Chiro Spearo!”

A lightening bolt ripped through another three.

Drilling laser blasts destroyed another group.

“Faze and Daze!”

Two Formless were thrown into convulsions seconds before they, too, were destroyed.

As the Hyper Force launched their attack, some of the former hostages began asserting themselves and fighting for their freedom again. The Formless troops came, but were destroyed in due time.

The battle lasted about twenty minutes. When it was over, the Hyper Force found themselves surrounded by a grateful crowd. The six of them shared smiles, knowing it was a job well done.

“Somehow I knew I’d find you in the middle of all of this.”

The crowd parted and allowed the police chief through. Chiro’s face paled behind his orange mask. He felt something touch his hand lightly and he looked down to find Otto looking up at him with a small smile. The other monkeys were also looking up at him and it reassured him that somehow things were going to work out.

“I’m sorry, kid, but I have to take you back to your foster parents,” the chief said.

“Officer, I implore you to reconsider. I understand your laws, but Chiro is happy with us,” Antauri began explaining.

“Kid, I’m sure the chimp has good intentions, but if it’s trying to speak to me, well, I didn’t take monkey language at the academy,” the chief said.

“I would like to step in and speak on the behalf of this young man,” Mr. Gakslapper said, stepping forth from the crowd. “Twice now the boy and his team of monkeys have saved us all. All of us here intend to fix up this neighborhood and restore it to its previous, glorious state to give the boy an adequate place to live. We want to take responsibility for the boy in repayment for keeping us safe.”

The chief crossed his arms and thought for a while. Chiro’s heart pounded; he couldn’t believe what was happening.

“I am sorry, sir, but the boy is legally bound to his foster parents.”

“I don’t want to go back,” Chiro finally spoke up. “They ignore me, yell at me, and they yell at each other. I was miserable there. I hate them and I don’t want to go back.”

The memory he experienced under the influence of the Formless Monster came rushing back to him. He shook his head to clear it from his mind.

“I really, really don’t want to go back,” he murmured again.

The chief’s eyes widened slightly and then he bent down to look Chiro in the eyes.

“Did they ever physically abuse you?”

Chiro blinked, searching his memory. “Well, I’ve been shoved.”

The chief nodded and stood up. “Good enough for me. I’ll take care of that end,” he held out his right hand to Chiro, who shook it tentatively. “Keep your nose clean, kid, or you’ll have a whole community of parents instead of just the two.”

Chiro smiled. “Yes, sir.”

“As for the rest of you, anyone taking residence in this area will be sent papers declaring your responsibility for this child.”

The crowd offered murmurs of agreement, the chief tipped his hat and ordered his officers out.

“We did it everyone!” Mr. Gakslapper cried.

The crowd exploded into cheers. The monkey team looked up at Chiro with smiles; Chiro looked at them with a grin.

Even though no one had slept through the night, it didn’t stop them from beginning the cleanup. Chiro and the monkeys were more than willing to help.

As Chiro went to throw a bag of garbage onto a pile, he found BT and Glenny doing the same. Their eyes met. Chiro gave them both a steady look while the two glared back.

“Don’t get the wrong idea, our parents want to live in this part of town,” BT sneered.

“So, the fact that I have quite possibly saved your lives won’t get you off my case?” Chiro asked.

“Fat chance, Monkey Boy, you didn’t save our lives,” Glenny muttered.

“Matter of fact, you just made yourself more weird, you really are a Monkey Boy,” BT said as a cruel smirk crossed his face.

“BT! Glenny! You two get over here right now!” a woman called from out of sight.

The two bullies grumbled and mumbled as they stalked off for their next task.

If there were no other confrontations to ever be thankful for, Chiro was thankful for that one. He was confident and BT and Glenny no longer posed a threat to him. He knew that if push came to shove, he would be able to take care of it.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

That night after dinner, Chiro sat outside on the shoulders of the Super Robot. He breathed deeply, enjoying the view of a cleaned up Shuggazoom. The Hyper Force and the people who now wanted to live there really put themselves into that day’s task. Everything looked done for now and the rest would be taken care of in the next few weeks. As a matter of fact, the city looked like it hadn’t been abandoned at all.

“Today was a good day, Chiro?” Antauri asked as he sat next to the boy.

“Yeah, it was a very good day,” Chiro said. “Missions accomplished.”

“Yes, but you do know there is but one more mission we must fulfill?”

Chiro sighed, the sigh turned into a yawn. “Yes, I know.”

“Let’s get some sleep, so tomorrow we may accomplish our mission,”

Chiro nodded and went to bed. Antauri smiled and looked up at the stars.

"You two had a bit of an experience up on the ship, I take it," Gibson said, coming out to sit next to Antauri.

"Yes, the boy has more power than he realizes still," Antauri said.

They were quiet for a few minutes.

"So, when are you going to tell him?" Gibson asked.

"When he is ready, Gibson, and I now have complete faith that one day he will be ready to accept that he is The Chosen One."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

When the Hyper Force awoke the next morning, a few clouds were covering the sky, but they knew it would clear up. After breakfast, they all gathered at the top of the Super Robot. Armed with special pistols, Sprx and Chiro attached cords around their ankles.

“I know this looks bad, team,” Chiro said. He looked down at the Super Robot, which was now covered in green gunk. He grimaced. “But the Super Robot must be cleaned!”

“You gonna talk all day or do this?” Nova asked, holding Chiro’s cords.

Sprx and Chiro stood at the edge, their water guns filled with cleaning solution. Chiro glance over at Sprx; Otto was going to spot him. He gave the red monkey a smirk.

“Last one to finish his side does the other’s chores?” Chiro asked.

“You’re on,” Sprx replied, smirking back.

They both leaped off the robot, turning and aiming their pistols at the gunk and sprayed it right off.

Down on the ground, something sparkled and caught Chiro’s eye. He turned his head and saw a girl with a green jumper and red pigtails. His heart started pumping fast and he stopped paying attention to what he was doing and the spray of cleaning solution cut across the cords holding him.

Antauri had warned them both to be careful, the cleaning pistols were mini-power washers, the spray would be forceful enough to cut through rope.

Chiro only remembered that when he began falling without support.

“Chiro!” Sprx cried, reaching towards him.

Nova reached forward and grabbed the broken end of the cord, but Chiro was too heavy and she went over. Gibson leaped forward to grab her tail, also began to fall, and Antauri took hold of his as his other hand grabbed the edge of the robot.

“We gotcha,” Nova said.

A second later, the rope slipped out of her hands and Chiro cried out again as he fell the rest of the way to the ground, which was all of four feet. His back hit the ground hard. The monkeys jumped off the robot and joined him on the ground.

“You okay, buddy?” Otto asked.

Chiro groaned. They could tell he was all right, Chiro had taken harder hits before.

“What happened, Chiro?” Antauri asked, wondering what had distracted him.

“He lost, check it out,” Sprx said with a laugh as he pointed at the robot. “My side sparkles, the kid missed a spot.”

Sprx continued to laugh at himself. Nova punched the side of the robot and made a pile of gunk fall on Sprx.

“Huh, sore loser,” Sprx muttered while Nova smiled at him.

During this, Chiro wondered what did happen. He felt he had experienced many things over the past few months, but this was completely new. He had to find out why he reacted this way and what had caused it.

Chiro stood and looked around.

“Who was that girl?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my love for Amaronith, because without her I would still be putting in html tags when there's a rich text editor which made posting this so much faster and easier.  
> I remember finishing this fic and feeling really accomplished. I feel the same just posting it, lol 25 chapters is not something to sneeze at! I hope you all enjoy, anyone new, and anyone who is re-reading this on Ao3 instead of FF.net. The follow-up, Prophecy, is an unfinished project that I'm unsure if I'll ever return to, but only time will tell for certain.


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